Musical Reality Shows this week : Critical Analysis ( Sept 28-30)

SRGMP, after a long time, presented an outstanding extravaganza of music and singing, blending into a near perfect show. Devoid of any drama, it was a tribute to the geniuses who have given so much to the audience over the years. Friday saw a round of gazals and semi classical, presided by two doyens of music scene, Jagjit Singh and Pt Jasraj, both of whom filled the atmosphere with awe and delight with their respective recitals . Later, the contestants not only lifted their own performance beyond the realm of ordinary, each of them giving one enthralling performance after another, but they even managed to lift the show altogether to the highest level. No enforced drama, no unbecoming antics by anyone which the show had previously been notorious for, it stood out for its purity and superlative music. The same went for the Saturday episode, which though was more of a promotion for Farah Khan and Shahrukh Khan’s upcoming film Om Shanti Om, but that did not take away anything from the extraordinary musical evening.If anything, the energy radiated by the effervescent Farah Khan and the stellar performances by the top three only added to the brilliance of this episode. Amul Star Voice of India, on the other hand, continues with it’s confusing antics. The Wild card is over, the confusion as to how many and what way is not. The audience started with knowing four to be selected, four became five ( veto power of the judges? Please!) and then it finally came to six. Even more alarming was the way the esteemed mentors were reacting.Abhijit’s outburst at this stage, about a Prithvi contestant not being deserving enough to be in the Bemisaal 12, let alone top 5, ( suspiciously pointing at Ishmeet who cried heartbreakingly even after being declared safe, ) was not only humiliating and rude to say the least, but also indicative to the immense dissatisfaction plaguing this reality show. All the contestants, without exception, have a perpetual bewildered look on their faces – probably wondering why they are where they are in the first place. The final selection of the Wild Card entries is supposed to be a 50-50 decision, yet none of the judges were seen giving any marks to any of the WC contestants ! So is it that the marks given by other four judges in the first Wild Card round would be taken into account? Or would the current panel of judges give the marks later? Talk about confusion compounded!This show has every ingredient to make it a successful one - eye catching sets, a warm host, brilliant contestants, at least 10 of whom can beat anyone on their day, and some great singing. Yet the show is plunging down, both in esteem and the TRP with each passing day, all thanks to a baffling elimination process where the voting pattern does not even reflect the sentiment of the masses, and the ensuing format, or rather, the lack of it. Even the presence of the brilliant trio Shankar-Eshaan-Lloyd on Friday or the Saawariya team on Saturday did little to brighten the strangely gloomy atmosphere, though the scintillating performances by young Ranbir and Sonam did lift the spirits. The performance of all the participants was another highlight of the show. What is notable here is the team spirit showed by them. Every now and then they have set aside their inevitable rivalry, and performed background vocals for each other ( watch out for the outstanding background vocals by Abhaas, Priyani and Harshit in Arshpreet’s Aa-ja-ve-mahi). The camadiere showed by them is worth a watch in itself.

Will the reentry of two (or is it three now? Confusion confusion!) through wild card save this reality show or help it’s way up the charts once more? With SRGMP finale round the corner and Indian Idol already over, Star Voice of India still can fancy some chances, provided it immediately finds ways to iron away the multiple lines of confusion and give the audience what it really tunes in to watch – good music.