Same Old Story --Article

Same Old Story

Squabbling judges, crying contestants and blame-it-on-the-audience host lamentations; why do all singing talent hunts sound the same?

Surprise packet
From missing the auditions of Indian Idol and Idol 2 to being eliminated from Indian Idol 3's theatre round, and then bouncing back with audience votes to finally court judges' acclaim (Annu Malek has already declared him this season's Indian Idol). Indeed, none of the contestants in any of the shows has scripted a more unpredictable yet deserving personal story than Shillong's Amit Paul. Amul Star Voice of India's 17-year-old Aabhas Joshi is another petite talent powerhouse unleashed. One of the youngest finalists in the current lot, his tribute rendition of Kishore Kumar's tough song in male and female playback , Aake seedhi lagi (Half Ticket), had the maestro's sons (Amit Kumar and Sumeet) stand up and say 'wow'.

Most irritating judge act
The ongoing Alisha Chinai-Malek fracas on Indian Idol 3. From its initial shock effect, it has long turned into a yawn drill, whose predictability now makes it look like a scripted anomaly that threatens to hurt the show's popularity.

Best guest judge moments
It had to come from the hit film partnership of the year—Salman Khan and Govinda. While Khan made a chubby yet embarrassed Aneek Dhar strip to his waist while rendering his hit undie-flaunting O o jane jana, Govinda had fellow judges give standing ovations. Both for his impromptu dance act on Babujee dheere chalna with Ankita Mishra (Indian Idol 3) or spirited rhyming with Aabhas Joshi (on Voice of India).

Strongest contenders
Sa Re's talented Pakistani boy band (Karachi's Junaid Sheikh, Lahore's Mussarat Abbas and Faisalabad's Amanat Ali), along with Bikaner's Sufi singer Raja Hasan, who always seem to be scoring nothing less than a perfect 10. While the cow belt's girl trio of Deepali, Puja and Ankita Mishra keep aloft hopes of a female idol this year in Indian Idol 3, Voice of India's range is best encompassed within Sumitra Aiyyar's rustic husk notes and Mohammed Irrfan Khan's contemporary-style sing.

One thing we could do without
Ismail Darbar and Himesh Reshammiya's ongoing mutual admiration society in Sa Re; the never-ending speculations before Alka Yagnik deigned to come back in Voice of India and the yes-man judge from Indian Idol 3, Udit Narayan, who never seems to have an individual viewpoint.

Off-the-set affairs
While Meiyang Chang's budding romance with Deepali may have been nipped in the bud by Malek's glares and Deepali's feigned non-commitance, the sets of Sa Re, however, have been hosting a more demonstrative bonding between host Aditya Narayan and the Texan 'Shakira' Mauli Dave.

Popularity ratings
Sa Re reigns at the top (it even recently broke Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi's lead at the top with a record 8.4 TVRS in the Salman Khan episode) and that's not just because of its star attracts. The show, that has given Bollywood the likes of Kunal Ganjawala, Shreya Ghoshal and current judge Shekhar, lives up to its past reputation, with four of its singers already joining the playback bandwagon. Next on TRPs, follows the personality driven Indian Idol 3 (highest-ever TVR 5.2)—high on show, but relatively low on performance. Voice of India (highest-ever TVR 3.9), a belated me-too debutant of Sa Re in spite of having better talent than Idol 3, perhaps suffers from an overdose of concept, Yagnik's controversial walkout not withstanding.

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