I agree with most of the opinions about specialisation. Applies for Swaroop in particular. I am certain we will see him sing a few of those folk songs in movies and my suspicion is that we will also see some private albums with folksy + bhangra type music. Music Director Pritam was very keen to work with him. Swaroop will shine and let's hope he uses this opportunity provided by II well!!!
On Rakesh, I am beginning to have my doubts. He was my number 2 till the last round. He didn't impress me in the last round and the elimination performance. Both were very average. The problem I notice is that he seems to be very good, flawless in songs that are old style and that too romantic. We all know this guy is very much in love and he is able to deliver well on songs that capture that emotion. He didn't do as well in the last round which was stil old style music. The new age romantic stuff, like that Piloooo song sung by Shreeram on the last elimination day, I am not confident that Rakesh can sing this well. He hasn't tried, so not sure. Also his voice quality is like Mohd Rafi which is not well suited to this type of music, I think (again he has not tried so not sure). By not trying and singing that genre he may be missing out a golden opportunity to further his career post-Idol. In the end after all the talk Salim Suleiman or Pritam or Shankar Ehsan are not going to remember Rakesh since he never sang any of their songs and demonstrated that he can sing them well. If they don't even remember him as a possible candidate what chance will he have in actually getting one against the existing established players. I guess it is late for him to do anything different becos that might jeopardise his chances of atleast winning this competiton. He does stand a chance because he is a good singer who has given consistently good performances and importantly the winner is decided thru votes so anyone who can garner votes is fair game.
On Sreeram, things are very different. He used the II platform differently. He sang songs from all the known modern film Music Directors and did them extraordinarily well (beside a couple of Kishore da ones). He got kudos from Shankar EhsanLoy, Pritam said this guys has the most refined of all the 12 voices in the competition at the stage and is ready for playback tomorrow (i.e he is a finished product), Salim already is impressed with this guy, even Pyarelalji was impressed (remember he sang the most modern of his compositions,kate nahin kat the). Importantly he gained the reputation as the technically most accomplished on a national platform. His hindi diction is perfect (as highlighted by Anuji), not bad for a southie. I am sure the Hindi film music directors are going to remember him, especially becos of below.
Sreeram already sang a bit in the Telugu film industry as he got a break there after winning the local version of the indian idol. Telugu Film Industry is the 2nd largest in the country and has a revenue base which is atleast 50% of that of the Bollywood (which really shot up in the last 5yrs with the advent of the oveseas NRI market paying up in dollars). They make over 250 movies a year, which means they need lot of playback singers. The Indian Idol exposure will give him lot more visibility locally (hey after all he is now a nation topper and not state topper) and more big banner films want him to sing for them. It already happened with Salim Sulieman who wanted Sreeram to sing for a Telugu film (The film guy might be cashing in on Sreeram's increasing fame down south). This is going to help Sreeram establish himself quickly in the 2nd largest industry. And soon in Tamil and Malayalam as well, as our dear old SPB does. What it ensures is that he will gain a lot of exposure singing various genres of film music and work with the southie greats like Shankar Mahadevan, AR Rahman, MM Kreem and the northies who play music in the south. This will further help him hone his skill. This whole interplay is crucial as this is what is going to help him establish in the bollywood in the near future - given his 3 key strenghts, perfect diction, great voice and strong technical skills (to top the experience of singing top songs in the south). So according to me SreeRam is already on the way and winning or not winning Indian Idol has no more bearing other than some immediate monetary impact.
The rest, including Shivam I am not sure. They have potential but it is going to be a tough fight with so many other contestants from other shows to compete with. They are not finished products yet, unlike Sreeram. Let's hope they succeed too for all the hard work they put in and given their talent.
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
CID
Book Talk
