AnTaRa : Shakalakka BOOM BOOM FC-24 - Page 66

Neha, Meenal, Yashashree, Antara and Monali waited anxiously in the green room before the show, wondering what the results would be, and if it was fair that Jolly should directly make it to the next round without a performance.

The feeling was unanimous that a deserving candidate would get voted out just because Jolly had the benefit of being chosen for the next round because of her bout of Chicken Pox.

The results were soon announced and Yashashree was crushed to hear that she would be the one to lose her place on the stage. However, none of the other participants were seen showing much emotion or shedding a tear with her on the stage.

''We cried when Sagar was voted out because we felt that he deserved to be in the Idol competition, but we didn't really have such thought about Yashashree. We felt that the public has made a wise and well thought-of choice by not voting for her,'' said Karunya, in an interview after the show.

In yet another unusual act, Anu Malik and Sonu Nigam made a trip backstage after the show to give the nine remaining finalists a "piece of their mind".

They told them that now that quality of performances MUST see a drastic improvement as the show enters its final episodes.

The current level of performances will not be appreciated any more and the contestants must work much harder to raise the bar of their acts to stay in the race.

Before the last results were announced, Antara had a nagging feeling that her choice of song had not been up to the mark and would cause her downfall.

"I feel that I should probably not have sung this song on stage. This week the choice of song has been a big issue with most contestants and the judges were disappointed with most of the choices. My biggest fear is that if I lose out now, I will have to go back to my village and will never get an opportunity like this to make it big again" said a nervous Antara before the show.

The boys were asked to pick their favorite female performer and they all said that Monali and Antara👏 have emerged as the dark horses and have improved tremendously as the show has progressed.

The girls however felt that Panna still is the only one with the mysterious X-Factor ingredient required to make it to the finals.

In an interesting interview, Suresh Wadkar, voice guru for Ravi and Amey, said that though the public and the judges seem to prefer Ravi, he feels that Amey has more potential to be the Agla Idol.

Anuj Sharma is absolutely thrilled with his unexpected return to the Indian Idol stage. "I had lost all hope but now I get a chance to start all over again. I'm just so lucky I can't believe this is happening to me!" said Anuj, hardly able to contain his happiness.

Yet another week passed on the sets of Indian Idol and yet another favourite of Farah Khan was voted out.

This time it was Neha Kakkar, who Farah herself said has always been a "Rocking Performer".

"I feel that she lost out purely because of her choice of song", said Farah. Incidentally, Neha was the only contestant to have been invited to lunch with Farah in her Judge's room.

Anu Malik, too, was in the mood to dole out advice and this time it was for Antara. He told her that it was time for her to start concentrating on her singing and not bother so much about her clothes and make up.

"Your voice is a part of you and you are the only one who can control and train it so that your level of performance rises" were his words of wisdom.

Even on camera, when Meenal was asked who she'd choose as her Valentine from the male contestants, she blushed and disclosed: 'Amey-ji'.

While Meenal and Amey still have the pleasure of each other's company, Antara has been hit by Panna's loss. She always seemed to have a soft comer for the peppy and charismatic dude who got voted out last week.😭

She was seen crying uncontrollably after the show. 'Panna truly worked hard at his performance and DESERVED to be on the stage longer,' said Antara, as she sobbed after the show.😭

Quiet Sandeep showed his true emotional side on stage this week when he broke down upon hearing his name in the bottom three for the first time.

All these weeks, he would hide his fears and apprehensions behind his smile. But for the first time, viewers got a glimpse of the other side to his personality.

The Idol finalists are now actively campaigning for themselves at live shows and other performances.

'One of the most touching moments for me was my first autograph,' said Karunya. 'When you dream of being a star, this is something you always hope for, and now my dream is coming true,' he continued.

'I love to hear people scream my name and cheer when I appear on stage,' said Ravi, who is making the most of his campaigning skills in Mumbai and Delhi.

My edge:
Something that I have & he doesn't is that though he is a very good singer and has an excellent voice, that Marathi accent in his voice affects his singing. He doesn't have a flexible voice. On the other hand, I can sing all type of songs like Punjabi, Western, Romantic & even songs with a high range

Best Buddy:
Meenal is my best friend. Her being voted out is the greatest lost for me because I was not expecting this to happen. All three of us -- Antara , Meenal and I -- are best friends and we all were in the danger zone this time. Meenal is like the Female version of Karunya. She thinks like me.

AMEY DATE

Biggest Fear: Antara👏
Antara is perfect Idol material. She has the voice, looks and the appeal to be the next Idol. She is sharp, has a good voice and her interaction with the public is pretty strong. She is a complete package.

My edge:
The only negative point that Antara has is that she cries a lot in front of the camera. She gets hyper very fast and she should stop doing that if she wants to go far.

Best Buddy:
Anuj is the closest to me because whenever he has any problem, whatever it may be -- personal or related to singing -- he always confesses to me."

ANTARA MITRA

Biggest Fear: Amey
Amey is a good singer, he's got a great fan following and the judges also appreciate him. He has this sweet & cute personality and is like this boy next door that even your mom will be happy to meet. He has a positive attitude towards life, is cool & mature.

My edge:
Amey is egoistic. He argues a lot, is self-obsessed & seems confused at times.

Best Buddy:
When Panna was voted out, that was the saddest moment far me in this whole journey because a good singer was voted out & others who were not even worth being here were in.

SANDEEP

Biggest Fear: Anuj😕😕😕
Anuj is my closest competitor because he has the voice and the quality of a professional singer as he has learnt singing and is experienced.

My edge:
My uniqueness is my voice quality, and I don't think even Anuj can top that.

Best Buddy:
Amey and Anuj are good friends of mine. We have been together through the galas and have helped and supported each other even though we are competing for the same title.

ANUJ SHARMA

Biggest Fear: Amey
Amey is a good singer. He has the X factor and appeals to the image of a perfect Idol."

My edge:
Maybe Amey lacks the public connection, that's why he's been in the bottom three.

Best Buddy:
Sandeep, Amey and I have become a kind of group. We enjoy hanging out together whenever we get time and help each other out too.

The lights are bright, there's music in the background, press and radio journalists grappling for interviews.

Antara's make up is being touched up constantly; Sandeep is hiding in the washroom. Amey, Anuj and Karunya are practicing while waiting for their photo shoot…a typical scene on the sets of Indian Idol.

The Five finalists now hang out in two distinct groups. Karunya and Antara are best friends👏, while Sandeep, Anuj and Amey stick together.

'Anuj is the closest to me because whenever he has any problem, whatever it may be -- personal or related to singing -- he always confesses to me,' said Amey, who is friendly with everyone and keeps everyone in high spirits.

Anuj, Amey and Sandeep had gelled right from the beginning of the galas and now with Anuj back on the show, The Three Musketeers are having a blast.

Farah Khan seems to have taken Antara under her wing, as she's the only girl left on the show among four boys.😳😃

'Farah Ji is like a God Mother to me. It's because of her tips and help that my makeover has happened so well,' said Antara about her favourite judge.😃

After Antara's last performance in a beautiful gown she actually went up to her and called her India's Britney Spears!👏

Antara still misses Panna,😭😭😭 who she had a soft corner for, and takes his opinion on the songs she sings. Panna has started doing stage shows and has been booked for the entire month in China and Dubai.

Amey's friendly and helpful attitude has made him the "leader" of the group, who everyone turns to when they need a shoulder to cry on or a piece of sane advice. He had taken it upon himself to tell the people who select the songs for the performances to include the contestants in the process, as they know what kind of song suits their voice.

Karunya was the first to speak up after the shoot, as he felt that after Amey, it would be he who would be voted out next. "For Sandeep and Anuj to have reached this point, it is a big thing. They have surprised audiences and themselves. But now after Amey leaving I feel I have no real competition," said Karunya. "As for the voting system, I feel that it would have been better if the judges only voted. I don't know even if I still believe in the system. I feel that Amey might have missed out because Maharashtra's votes were distributed between him and me. I feel losing him on the show is one of the biggest losses for Indian Idol."

Sandeep seemed to be a quiet spectator as the audience and judges rose against the results and walked off the stage. Though he was shocked by the result, he sat and watched the drama unfold before him like any other spectator. As for the voting system, he still has faith in the public's opinion and said " Sonuji has supported me throughout and has said that I have a clean boyish look. I think this must be working for me."

Anuj was in the thick of controversy as the judges openly supported Amey in front of him. However, he said that everything happened so fast that he couldn't even think straight until the show was over. "I felt later that I should have walked off the stage instead of the judges and should have offered my place for Amey. I wanted to tell him that he deserved my place, but could not at that moment because I was so dumbfounded," said Anuj. "As for the voting system, it is a format of the show and if a rematch must be held for Amey I think it should have also been held for other great singers like Meenal, Antara, Monali and others."😭