*We should all cooperate on this forum, so please respect everybody's opinions**
Puja's exit interview has made me very upset. Why did she have to go out of her way to malign the intentions of her co-contestants?
According to her interview trancript, Prashant, Chang and Ankita are only here for "winning", they don't care about singing. Only she, Emon, Deepali, and Amit sing from the heart, the others do not. How can she make such unwarranted statements about their intentions. Prashant, Chang and Ankita are decent people and sing well, and to discredit them like this is really not nice.
Also, her comments about Ankita (though it is okay for Puja to dislike/like Ankita on a personal level) was completely uncalled for. I am seriously disappointed why she had to go out of her way to say these things, like Ankita knows nothing about singing and further saying, "[Ankita] is nothing compared to us. I am the Sunidhi Chauhan of Indian Idol, and Deepali is the Shreya Ghoshal." Puja should learn some humility tips from Deepali and be nice to others.
Hello, Prashant, Chang, and many others were not classically trained and are still humble enough to acknowledge their weaknesses and perform well on the show. Also, Puja kept mentioning her "training", about how singing is only good if you are "trained." Okay, if she had said Ankita and Chang need to improve that is okay, but to call them bad singers just because they are not trained, is not right. You can sing well and with emotion without training, and Kishore Kumar and many legends in the music industry is proof of that. There is no rule that without 14 years of training you cannot sing well!
I miss Deepali, she was definitely a more humble, nice, and well-mannered chick in comparison to Puja. Even when she was leaving she behaved nicely with Ankita even though she was not close to her.
I must say the people I respect the most on the show are Deepali and Chang. They are nice to all contestants and they never make any snide remarks about anyone or badmouth anyone.
Again, please let me stress that this is a personal viewpoint about an Idol contestant. I appreciate all your views and would encourage you to express your opinions too, but please refrain from using abusive language. Also, just to stress on another point, the question here is not on Puja's singing, but her judgements and opinion on others--we all know she is a very good singer, so no debate on that.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT
Source: http://indianidol.sify.com/onthesets/
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| On the sets | |
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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.
In contrast, here is Deepali interview just minutes after her exit from Idol, very nice and considerate and till the very end spoke well of everyone:
"It was the most shocking moment of my life?/P>- Deepali
A few minutes after her elimination, Deepali woke up to the fact that this was a final farewell. Her fans were heartbroken, so were the judges who had always favoured this multi-talented girl. But the aspiring RJ stood tall, trusting in her abilities. Ready to make a mark in media, Deepali vowed to come back with a bang! How did you feel when you heard you were eliminated? I couldn't believe it. I simply couldn't because my performance was very good, much better than the other contestants. When they announced my name I was dumbfounded. The voting system is so unpredictable that it is important for us to be prepared for any kind of verdict. In fact, I thought it would either be Puja or Ankita, whose performances were not good in the last Gala. But then you can't do anything about destiny. Who do you think will be among the top three? Amit will definitely be there till the end. He will most probably become the Indian Idol. The other two people who will be in the Top 3 will be Emon and Chang. Will you miss Meiyang Chang? Chang is a dear friend. There was nothing between us. The media created it all. It's always interesting to have some kind of romantic story in a competition like this. People like talking about those who are in the limelight. I request you to please let the rest of the contestants perform in peace. Don't bother them with such rumours. Who is responsible for you going out—the janta or the judges? I have no grudges against anyone. No one is responsible for this. This was my destiny. My fans have been with me throughout. They've been voting for me right from the beginning. I guess in the end they didn't know how many votes were needed. I thank them wholeheartedly. What are your plans for the future? Do you still want to be an RJ? Definitely. I am planning to shift to Mumbai soon and study Mass Communication. I want to the join media. I want to pursue a career in music, too, and want to work real hard for it. This is not the end for me, this is just a beginning. You are a celebrity today. Who would you thank for this achievement? I would just like to thank my mother and father for everything that I've achieved today. They pushed me for the Indian Idol auditions. And then there was no looking back. What is the reaction of your parents? I haven't met my parents yet. I know they're heartbroken because they wanted to see me as the Indian Idol. Any regrets? Do you think you should have worked harder? No matter how much we work, it is never enough. I definitely think that I could have done better. And, from now on, I will make sure that I give my best in everything I do. Any message for your fans?I just want to thank everybody who voted for me. I am overwhelmed by their love and support. I am grateful to them that they gave me this platform to sing. I have made my mark in the hearts of the people, now I have to take it forward.
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