The Jodi No 1 Concert was at 7:30 pm at Mumbai's Ravindra Natya Mandir, and I was almost an hour late, but all was well because nothing started before 9 pm.
Many people from the television industry -- especially from Sony TV serials -- were in attendance, as were relatives of the performers. A couple of contest winners from radio shows joined in excitedly on the action.
I met Qazi's mother, Rukhsana (left, in pink). She was very happy and said, "I am very proud of my son; That he made it so big. Mere bete ne desh ka naam roshan kiya yeh sab uparwale ki mehrbani hai" (It is all God's will that my son has made the nation proud.)
The show began with Mandira Bedi taking the stage as anchor for the evening, but, quite frankly, after sometime she was painfully loud. First they introduced the Fame Jodi through video clippings, rehashing all the not-so-old memories of the show.
Then came the first performance of the night, by runner-up Rex D'Souza and the beautiful Arpita Mukherjee who performed on Tauba tauba from Kaal. It was a fabulous performance. Rex was more then enthu and involved the audience in his performance by asking them to cheer and clap. Arpita looked like a doll, in a tight-fitting black outfit. I have met the Fame team right from the beginning and I could make out the difference in their behaviour -- the way they talk and move -- it is clear they are well groomed now.
After their duet, Rex called Ruprekha on stage in his own style, singing Ruprekha (Ek ladki) ko dekha to aisa laga. The woman made her entry singing Piya tu ab toh aaja from Caravan.
Ruprekha has definitely changed a lot. Her looks, her style, her dress sense - everything has changed. On asked how much weight she has lost, she said 8 to 9 kgs. That's impressive, Ruprekha, keep it up, you need to lose some more. Ruprekha sings well, but she can't dance at all, and you can see the nervousness on her face.
Arpita is called on stage to call Qazi, she sings Woh Qazi (Kisna) hai, and Qazi made his grand entry from among the crowd, singing Main aisa kyon hoon from Lakshya. and the audience just went mad! Girls reach out, try to just touch him. His effect is electrifying and he has undeniable charisma. But as soon he is on stage, he makes a mistake while singing the song but corrects it immediately. Still, this hiccup got him conscious and Qazi didn't look straight into the audience, instead looking down most of the time. But even with all his mistakes, nobody notices his flaws. They are so much in love with him that they scream ecstatically, cheering him on.
He dances too well, and then sings I am the best from Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. This song goes well with his attitude, and by the end of this song he is comfortable and looks straight into the audience. He is asked to mimic Javed Akhtar, and he does that very well. Whenever Qazi is asked any question, he's really quick with his answers.
Then they released the kids' first music album, Qazi Ruprekha Jodi No 1. The music composed by Prempal Hans and Hardip Sidhu and lyrics by Sameer.
Kunal Dasgupta, CEO Sony Entertainment (left), Fame headmistress Ila Arun (second from left), and lyricist Sameer (right). Ila is happy that her sishyas have made it so big, and she called this a yaadgaar safar (memorable journey) of her life. Sameer said, "The most difficult part of writing lyrics for this album was when I was writing songs for Qazi, because it had to go with his personality."
The veteran lyricist added, "I took 25 years to achieve this (fame), that Jodi achieved in a few months, and from here on, the road will be more difficult as they have to hold on to this success."
The programme was very mismanaged, with long intervals between songs. Next up, was a duet from the new album, Meri mehbooba, but this was a farce as their lips didn't sync with the song! Not that it was a great song to begin with, honestly.
CID star Shivaji Satam was in the audience, and when asked what he thinks about the Jodi, he said, "They are just too good, and if at all they come in any movie or serial, I would love to play father to at least one of them."
Amit Sareen (left), the winner of Celebrity Fame Gurukul, next sang Arre deewano from Don, and did a pretty decent job. Then came a Rex and Qazi duet, Aa! Dil kya from Hum Kisise Kam Nahin. Rex started the song very nicely, but Qazi sang the Tum kya jaano bit in the jugalbandi, and just ruined the song.
All four then performed Aasmaan ke paar, the first Fame Gurukul song. Rex jumped into the audience, and bonded really well with the crowd.
Kambakth ishq from Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya was just average, and the new songs Karu kya and Yeh pal from their album were quite disappointing. During the last song, the Jodi requested the audience to please buy their album and show their love for them.
After the show, I met Arpita and Rex while Qazi and Ruprekha were too busy.
Rex, disappointed that he isn't part of the Fame Jodi, said it was okay, and he has gotten a contract from Sony for 2 years. They might make an album with him, but he isn't sure about this.
Arpita said she is not at all disappointed that she lost even though she wanted to win, because once she was out of the Gurukul she understood how famous she has become. She also let slip that she sang an Anu Malik song for an upcoming Inder Kumar movie.
So looks like it's all win-win for the Fame Gurukul gang. We wish we could say the same for us listeners, though.
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