MUMBAI: The iconic music show "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a 25-hour virtual music marathon, which will also raise funds to aid the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Titled "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Live-athon", the music marathon will start on May 23, and include over 350 performances by popular singers. It will culminate on May 24 with a grand concert "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Ek Desh Ek Raag concert". Musical stars, including Udit Narayan, Shaan, Richa Sharma, Himesh Reshammiya, Javed Ali, Kamal Khan, Vijay Prakash and Debojit, will be performing from their homes.

Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly will also be part of the gala. On Zee Bangla, Sourav anchors a game show titled "Dadagiri", which happens to be one of the biggest TRP-rakers of Indian reality TV.

Amid the lockdown and in the times of social distancing, the digital and televised concert has been shot from the homes of popular "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" faces.

Himesh, who will be performing during the Live-a-thon as well as the Ek Desh Ek Raag concert, said: "I am not surprised that it is the first reality show to complete 25 years as it has been at the pinnacle of non-fiction shows since its inception. In fact, I have been associated with the show since more than 15 years, so it is even more special to me and I am honoured to be a part of ‘Ek Desh, Ek Raag' -- a never-heard-before 25 hour Live-a-thon and the mega concert. I can't wait to perform for all the music lovers across India and cheer them up during this testing period."

The 25-hour music marathon will be aired on Facebook and the musical concert will be aired on Zee TV and 18 other Zee channels.

Talking about the initiative, Prathyusha Agarwal, Chief Consumer Officer - Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited, said: "The idea is to harness the strong equity of ‘Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' that transcends regional boundaries for the greater good and urge people to donate with all their hearts."

With the initiative, viewers will have the opportunity to do their bit for the underprivileged by contributing to GIVEINDIA through an active ‘Donate' Link during the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa LIVE-athon.

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(Source: IANS)