Puja's interview

"Compared to Deepali and me, Ankita is nothing!"

- Puja Chatterjee

Puja's elimination came as a shock to everyone, including Puja and her parents who refused to believe the news. She was so shaken and hurt that we found the sweet and demure Puja transformed into a volcano of anger after the elimination. She spoke out against those who don't value trained singers and, instead, choose to vote for the stage performers. Excerpts from the interview:

Did you expect the elimination?

No, not at all. I was shell-shocked. My last performance was outstanding. I am really confused about how the public is voting. I hope they are voting for singing and not just because someone shakes a leg. I am scared for my friends now—Emon and Amit are the only two singers left in the contest. Hope the public does justice with them.

Do you agree with Ankita's statement that stage performance is as important as singing?

I want to talk straight now, I am not scared of anyone. I seriously wonder now, what is the value of the rigorous training I've undergone. The public is throwing out trained singers, who have knowledge of the grammar and punctuation of singing, and is retaining those who don't know the A, B, C of singing. It seems our hard work has no value.

I still think Ankita is wrong. Stage shows are important, but finally we have to do playback singing. We have to sing for albums. If your singing is not up to the mark no one will let you stay even for a minute. And for me performance is the expression of a song while singing. I have just one thing to say: if any music director calls her today, he will see if she can sing perfectly, not whether she can dance. And Anu Maliik himself said that if he had to choose someone for playback singing, he'll choose either Deepali or me. And for stage shows it would be Ankita.

What is your opinion about public voting?

I totally lost faith in audience voting after Deepali was voted out. Ok, I don't mind that I am out, but how can Deepali be voted out? She is a fantastic singer. Everybody called me Sunidhi Chauhan and Deepali Shreya Ghoshal. Compared to us Ankita is nothing. Honestly, Ankita is nothing as a singer. For singing even a single harkat she asks us if it is right. She doesn't have a clue about singing.

Any message for the public?

I want to request them to vote sensibly. They should listen minutely before voting because someone's career is at stake. I want to ask the audience if a person is not able to sing in sur after a week's practice, how will they perform after two hours of practice in a studio? People should vote for those who are singing well… not those who can dance or is well dressed is good looking. These things shouldn't matter. Nothing should matter other than singing.

Who has been your favourite judge and why?

My favourite judge is Anu Maliik. That is because he always supports trained singers like Deepali, Emon, Amit and me. He has also declared on camera that he will give Deepali and me a chance to sing in his next film. I am really grateful to him and look forward to working with him.

What are you future plans?

I plan to come back to Mumbai this month along with Deepali. We both will stay together and struggle to make it. We want to challenge everyone. We want to show them what we are capable of. Today, we have been eliminated, but tomorrow we will be back. If we have to knock on the door of every music director, we are ready to do it.

How did your parents react?

They still can't believe that I have been eliminated. They just told me to always believe in myself. We have to lose some to gain some. If singers like Lataji and Kishoreda can struggle, why can't we struggle? My parents are with me.

Among the remaining singers, who do you think are the strongest?

I think Emon and Amit are the only singers left now. The rest are just competing for the title. They're bent on winning. They don't sing from the heart. A true singer sings because he loves singing. You've to fall in love with a song to sing it from your heart.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

I want to become the next Asha Bhosle. She is such a versatile singer, but does she dance on stage? Look at Lataji, does she dress up to sing on stage? No, they don't. I want to follow their footsteps and sing like them.

sorry if its posted b4 😳

great going puja. great I totally agree and ankita is nothing means nothing

Way to go Puja. I really admire her straight forwardness.

Someone plz make her the judge of Indian Idol........Ankita gets excellent comments from all the judges for 5 to 6 galas bak to bak......n Puja faulters in almost 3 to 4 of them....inspite of all the * rigorous training*
no wonder she was never consistent.....all thanks to her * rigorous training *

Just a piece of advice gal....dont be on such a high just bcoz of Anu's (false) promises....there r millions of singers better than u......but still ur dear Anu hasnt given them a chance.....so just see where u stand in front of them.....but there r hardly any female rockstars in India......n thats why Ankita stands apart in the crowd.......most of the previous Indian Idol contestants r fulfilling their so called dreams of doing playback only thru performing on such stage shows.......n thats why Ankita's success seems more likely than urs Puja....wish u get to know of these hard hitting facts real soon....or else I will patiently wait for another such *frustration removing* interview of urs 😃

Honestly, Ankita is nothing as a singer. For singing even a single harkat she asks us if it is right. She doesn't have a clue about singing. [/quote]

thing is, these are the things people don't see on TV. they don't see how clueless ankita is about singing and how she constantly consults others on what to do. should a 'singer' like her even be in the competition 😒

was never a fan of puja's, but i like how frank she is. it might come across as arrogance to some, but it takes a lot of courage to be totally honest to the media.

Originally posted by: anvesha rulz

Ankita gets excellent comments from all the judges for 5 to 6 galas bak to bak......n Puja faulters in almost 3 to 4 of them....inspite of all the

Please inform me which performance of Ankita got EXCELLENT comments? yes, Puja did get bad comments, but compared to Ankita's singing, she was still better in her "bad performances." Puja will be able to sing any types of songs like Sunidhi, while Ankita will only be able to sing "item" numbers. Therefore Puja and Deepali will be able to make it far and singers like Ankita will only go so far like Qazi and Sandeep

I think Puja should stop making comments on Ankita if she is wise.

Now she is out of Indian Idol, she is not in the competition any more but she is in a another competition, where to survive she has to compete against all the singers of India. Now the competition is not between her and Ankita any more, she has to compete against everybody in music industry regardless it's album or playback singing.

If she is a wise girl then she should stop bad mouthing public, and saying stuff like I have no faith in public any more. She cannot be just successful by on her own, in the end she need public support, that's the way entertainment profession works.

From the results one thing is clear that public likes Ankita more then Puja and Deepali regardless how less music knowledge she has. So when puja makes these statements that Ankita is nothing in front of me then it just shows how jealous she is from her success.

That's not how it should be. Ankita will get what she derserve of and Puja will get what she deserve of. If Puja really is superior then Ankita then public will get to know about it in Future by Puja's work

Your work should speak that who is superior, you should not go out and say I am superior and she in nothing in front of me. I don't think it's wise to pass such statements to media. 😕

I don't want to comment on Puja's or Ankita's singing capabilities. Both are definitely talented in respective ways.
But now I think ..they both have lots of personal problem with each other..else such criticism is not expected from a talented singer like Puja.

After reading this interview am not surprised not a single tear was shed on her exit

Please Puja & Ankita...do watch BAWARCHI movie once you are at home. Ek kalakar ko kaise hona chahiye ..you people will come to know.

just because she make some moves does not approve ankita is good singer I have no idea why janta likes her because everytime i see her performing onthe stage it looks nothing then over acting yes she does so much ove acting i dont call this perfoemence i don't know if there is someone who agree with me or not but i completly agree with pooja. I dont know whats public thinking in india wvwn though i was born in canada i still have some music values but when it comes to voting public keep eliminating good singers such as Parleen, Deepali, Abhishek & now pooja i dont think i ll going to watch indian idol anymore since Ankita is still there caz i ll always be scared if public will vote out emon or amit caz these r the only 2 good singers left Indian Idol,sorry for if i said anything worng

Puja's frankness and boldness is praiseworthy but she should be more sensible when she is connecting with the media. Deepali too was shocked by her elimination but she came out thanking the public for making her reach top7 and saying she has no grudges against anyone in her interviews and Puja is doing just the opposite.... Puja u have to be more wiser to survive in this field this attitude will not be taken positively by all. In this industry one needs to keep her mind cool. A postive attitude will give positive results