Rahul Vaidya - Page 16

The whole day was cloudy and it occasionally rained casting doubts on whether the show could be held on schedule. However, by evening the clouds cleared to some extent and a moon was visible in the sky. As the show continued the weather improved and stars were visible as the whole place was filled with music.

People started gathering near the carnival compound by 8.00 pm despite the fact that people were not permitted to enter before 8.30 pm. They waited outside till 8.30 and the first group of people actually ran towards the stage. Those people didn't buy seats so they ran to get a good location where they can get a good view of the stage and be in front of the others who would also be standing.

Among the Indian Idol stars it was Ravinder who performed first. His performance received applause from the crowd. Prajakta was on stage next and she also delivered a superb performance. Rahul was next and he stirred the crowd into a frenzy. Abhijeet's performance was the last and he enhanced the excitement of the euphoric evening with a wonderful performance.

The lights and sound were excellent and it was one of the aspects which made the show great. For the people who bought Rf1,000 tickets, unlimited tea, coffee and juice were served. They were also seated in the front row as a privilege.

The show came to a climax because of a rain cloud that came swiftly. However, Abhijeet had only one song remaining to perform. The show was scheduled to end at 12.00 midnight and it was about five minutes before 12.00 that the rain came. So the show didn't come to an abrupt halt because of the rain but it ended almost on schedule with an exciting climax.

Some of the girls rushed towards the stage when it started raining, and Abhijeet himself had to rush to backstage. The crazy fans remained in the rain shouting "Abhijeet Zindabad!"

Later, the four Indian Idol stars came back on stage to wave farewell to the fans but they had to return to back stage because some of the fans rushed on to the stage.

Despite the rain some fans remained to have a glimpse of the stars. When one of the TV crew started videoing them one fan shouted that they would not budge even if they are filmed. Training a video camera on a crowd is a recently discovered method in Maldives to disperse crowds but this time it simply did not work.

The intensity of the rain at last forced the crowd to thin and the stars were taken away from the scene in cars. As Rahul had a late night flight he went to the airport while the others returned to Paradise Island.

While at backstage, we had an opportunity to talk to the stars and they all agreed that it was a wonderful show. From the reaction of the crowd, we believe that the audience felt the same way.

The people who bought Rf1,000 tickets for the show were invited to the reception at Nasandhura, where they had their exclusive time with the Indian Idol stars. We inquired whether they were satisfied with the time they had and some of them told us that they got a good value for the money. Some people even thought that Rf1,000 was cheap considering what they got from the evening.

And what they did get were lots of autographs and photographs not to mention the opportunity to talk face to face with the Indian Idol stars. A few girls were even lucky enough to get a hug from Rahul. Some girls said they didn't bring their husbands to the reception because they wanted an exclusive time with the stars.

There were about 40 guests and most of them were women, girls and children. There were of course a few men. The children were also very excited and they enjoyed the dinner very much. Maryam Rosly of V. Palace, who won the Indian Idol SMS contest, was also present with her partner.

The atmosphere at the reception was very lively and exciting because the stars were cheerful and friendly and they walked around talking with the fans and posing for photos.

After the reception there was a brief traffic jam in front of Nasandhura as the stars left. Some of the stars got a short ride through Male' in motorbikes with the security personnel from Muscleload. Prajakta was in one of the motorbikes.

The stars could not leave immediately for Paradise Island because there was a delay with the speedboat. It was found out that something got entangled in the turbine of the speedboat.

After an exciting evening we are looking forward for the ultimate event - the show itself.

The Indian Idol stars had a press conference just before the reception held at Nasandhura on Wednesday night. It lasted 20 minutes which was twice more than the time originally planned. The journalists asked wide ranging questions and the Indian Idol stars cheerfully answered them.

At sometime we thought we were in India, because some reporters asked entire questions in Hindhi.

Abhijeet was asked how he was handling all the fame and what the most difficult aspect of this rise to fame is, and he replied that it was indeed very difficult to be on the road. Fame comes with a price and that may as well be privacy.

There was a downpour of rain the previous night but fortunately as we waited for the Indian Idol stars to arrive, the weather was fine. Even though it was a bit cloudy, it was another sunny day.

It was Ravinder Ravi who came down the steps from the plane followed by Prajakta Shukre. Abhijeet Sawant, the Indian Idol, came next.



Prajakta is very friendly and media-savvy. Abhijeet is with a quiet disposition but friendly. He may have been tired as well from the morning flight. Ravinder doesn't speak English but when you talk to him in Hindhi he will be more than happy to talk.

If it was the Island Aviation girls who were in spotlight yesterday, today it was the girls from Immigration who stole the show. They grouped around the stars, asking for autographs and asking to take photographs with the stars. Most of the girls surrounded Abhijeet but when they realized that there were other stars as well they reluctantly and guiltily stood near the other stars to take photos. Did they forget to stamp the passports of the stars in their haste?



We are not sure about it but the stars were walked through the arrival terminal without any hassles. When they came out of the terminal they were welcomed by another group of female fans.

Tourists looked with curiosity while the Indian Idol stars were receiving such a warm reception from fans. The European tourists had no idea who the stars were, but they were amazed from what they were seeing.

In the VIP lounge of the airport the stars were interviewed by TVM. Not surprisingly, TVM did ask their standard question reserved for film stars, pop icons and heads of states. "Is this your first time in Maldives?"

Just to make sure that all readers of this blog knows the answer to the question, we would like to inform you that this is the first visit of the Indian Idol stars to Maldives.

Prajakta was humming a melody while in the VIP lounge, which is a small room near the Airports Information Counter. She also acted as an interpreter for Ravinder.

Camera phones clicked on and on as the stars headed for the speedboat to go to Paradise Island. There were fans of different ages, from middle-aged ladies to young men. Most of them were working at the airport. The memories stored in the phones will be on show tonight at their homes, where there will definitely be gasps and 'ah's from crazy fans. "Loabi dho?" ("Lovely, isn't it?) will be a commonly used phrase which we heard one girl say aloud after she saw Abhijeet from close range.

The musicians who will perform with the Indian Idol stars also arrived today.





On the way to Paradise Island Abhijeet's camera was struck from salt spray.

Abhijeet was also struck by the fish in the lagoon of Paradise Island and he dedicated sometime to video them.

So that's all the gossip for the moment but we will be returning with more. As you know, tonight there is a press conference and also a dinner in which the Indian Idol stars will spend sometime with those who bought Rf1,000 tickets for tomorrow night's show.

The show. That's the hallmark event. Let's hope for more drama to unfold.

Under the scorching sun, we waited for Rahul Vaidya to walk down the steps and step on the tarmac. There were a few aircraft on the runway; but that means a busy day for this small airport. It is a beautiful sunny day with blue skies and Rahul's first impressions of the Maldives would certainly be positive.

After being welcomed by BIG with a bouquet of flowers, Rahul walked towards the arrival terminal. As he was entering the terminal a group of girls from Island Aviation ran towards him. "Rahul, Rahul!" they shouted. The first cries of fans.

Rahul had traveled from Bombay to Male' via Dubai. After the 8-hour journey and going through the hassles at Dubai airport he was very tired. However, despite the fatigue, he was very cheerful and friendly.

After entering the VIP lounge of Maldives Airports Company Rahul was offered fresh orange juice and black tea. However, to our surprise we learned that Rahul liked tea with lots of milk. "More milk than tea," he explained.

There were middle-aged ladies, most probably those working at airport, who tried to open the VIP lounge to have a glimpse of the Indian Idol star, but the door was blocked by two bulky security personnel.

As Rahul went up to the jetty to board the speedboat to head for Paradise Island he was shocked by the beauty of the clear lagoons of the Maldives and the sparkling seas. He was in for another surprise when he went to Paradise and saw the turquoise waters.

Rahul had recently performed in Bangladesh where his show received an amazing support with lots of fans. After the show in the Maldives, Rahul is set to go to Egypt for another show. He is very excited to perform in the Middle East.

Maldivian fans of Indian stars will certainly be looking forward for tomorrow when Abhijeet Sawant, Prajakta Shukre and Ravinder Ravi arrive.