hi sweetoos, darlingoos and pumpkins! i know there has already been an update, but i just wanted to give you my take on the whole show, so i hope you like it!!!
Round number 4
3 Nov, 2005
Thursday
This week's theme was Retro Remixed and all in all, it was a great round, filled with some totally awesome performances, some thanda ones and some altogether disappointing performances. For the first time, we got to see some angry exchanges between the judges and choreographers. It was a dhamaakedaar episode laced with a wide variety of emotions: joy, disappointment, anger... so here i am, to dissect and present a detailed review of yesterday's show, just for you!!!
OPENING PERFORMANCE BY SANGEETA AND SHABBIR:
Yesterday's Retro round kicked off with a superb performance by hosts Sangita Ghosh and Shabbir. Honestly, I think Sangita is a far better dancer than she is a host, but of course, what we need is a complete package and Sangita definitely fulfils these requirements. Shabbir is, as we can now see, much better than when we started off. The music was remixed exclusively for Nach Baliye by DJ Aqeel, i guess we'll have to take Sangita's word for it!
Samundar mein nahake... good song, good moves and good costumes! Sangita and Shabbir both looked good, and danced with a lot of energy. The moves were great and added a touch of sensuality to the whole performance!!! Sangita looked good in her retro-beach-babe avatar with the pseudo-wet-n-limp hairstyle! It looked very sexy! There's no denying it, they do share some good chemistry and look fabulous together. Dazzling performance, a lot of enthu too! This is what we call: kicking off with a bang!
THE JODIS
Now, we are left with only eight jodis, Ronit-Manasi and Sai-Shakti having been eliminated in previous rounds. We have entered the fourth week, and as we can see very clearly, the competition is getting more difficult and tensions are slowly escalating what with injuries and the contestants facing the judges' frank criticism.
Jodi no. 07: Varun-Rajeshwari
Song: Yeh din to aata hai ek din jawaani mein...
To be honest, I watched Rajeshwari throughout and she HELD my attention throughout. She is a fabulous dancer, and moves very gracefully. Varun, in contrast looks quite awkward alongside her. But as a jodi they stand out as being among the cream of the present crowd. Despite his two left feet, Varun has definitely improved! Wouldn't you agree? especially after last week's performance... and he definitely deserves applause for that!
As far as the dance goes, the moves were not exactly eyecatching, but the beats were unquestionably foot tapping, though Varun tended to go wrong with his footwork here and there. Rajeshwari was her usual enchanting self and danced with her trademark poise and grace. What usually makes this jodi a treat to watch is Rajeshwari's dancing skills and Varun's energy, but this time around, his energy was slightly lacking, perhaps because he'd been shuttling back and forth between shoots and rehearsals... I don't blame him!
Another point that caught my eye immediately, was that absurd-looking wire trailing behind Varun. It did look funny and probably narrowed down the possibilities in choreography. And the judges were very quick to point out that they weren't impressed with the movements. Besides, the light-bulb costume was totally pointless here, as it made no difference or contribution to the performance, rather, it hindered their work.
Rajeshwari looked very pretty and 'sexy' in her whole 'avtaar' as Malaika, looking very good herself in a nice green sari, put it. I loved her costume and it went beautifully with the choreo and especially in the opening postures. I loved her hairstyle! Very mehbooba! Plus she used her hips very well!
I loved the short circuit thing that Varun did in the end (Rajeshwari's pose was very sexy)... a very cute ending to a good dance!
Overall: good performance, but a bit of a let down in the context of last week's performance. Nice remix, good costume (Rajeshwari's), except that it didn't go well with Varun's. Rajeshwari was convincing as Mehbooba, but Varun seemed to blunder a little through his portion, but he was very energetic, if not as much as usual.
Judges' remarks:
Malaika: electrifying for all the obvious reasons! But a bit thanda...
Farhan: synchronisation not good
Saroj Khan: I am disappointed... Amitabh and Mehbooba acts don't tally
Marks:
Malaika: 7/10 Farhan: 3/10 Saroj Khan: 4/10 Total: 14/30
My marks: 21/30
Jodi no. 02: Maninee-Mihir
Song: Pardesiya, yeh sach hai piya...
Well, it didn't impress anyone, not even me! It was clear that Maninee was overdoing her act. Her make up looked more like thick layers of face paint and her movements seemed strangely strained for a good dancer like her. Mihir was neither better nor worse. He's stagnated, performance wise. But on the whole, it was not very entertaining. Though I did enjoy Mihir's pardesiya act and get up. It was cute.
I definitely HAVE to applaud the sensuous element here. Maninee is very good at that and Mihir often does a good job of it! That particular portion came of spotlessly! One of the few pros of this performance!
But things started to go downhill when Maninee's skirt came off. Firstly, it didn't look too good and secondly, it didn't really have any relevance there, I agree with Saroj Khan. Maninee's grace has just disappeared, hasn't it? But i liked the song. Good beats, nice moves.
Overall: lukewarm performance... costumes were the biggest problem here
Judges' remarks:
Malaika: equal effort required from both, Mihir has been given less steps
Farhan: Just a straightforward dance with sensuality attached. Mihir may have been unable to keep up with the beats, but I appreciate his sincerity (or something in that vein). There's was too much effort from Maninee's end... it was visible and that's not an attractive thing to see.
Saroj Khan: Maninee is very graceful but the choreographer is not using her grace. Bad.
Marks:
Malaika: 4/10 Farhan: 4/10 Saroj Khan: 3/10 Total: 11/30
My marks: 15/30
Jodi no. 01: Poonam-Manish
Song: Lekar hum deewana dil...
This was one of the middl-lish performances. Neither here nor there. Let's take look at the pros first. So, we have some entertaining choreography, totally mast, rocking beats and some great energy and enthu! Poonam and Manish have definitely come a looong way! Manish was very good this time (as though he wasn't last time!) and Poonam did a good job. Very good choice of song. It fit perfectly well into the Retro theme/category.
I was totally fida over that twist step somewhere in the beginning. So, this is one of the best performances in terms of choreography and execution of the choreography. But this is where we come to the negative aspects.
Firstly, the most blatant point. The steps were undoubtedly rocking, but taking Poonam's build into view, the steps didn't look good on her, because they were vigorous and required a lot of movement. Manish managed just fine, but he fumbled a bit with his chadi, but he managed to get back on track quite fast, and that's good. The costumes now: well, considering the context, the costumes were apt. But dear designer, I do wish you had taken Poonam's ability to carry them off into mind. I AM NOT CRITICISING POONAM HERE, but i want to mention that sometimes, some people do not look good in certain clothes. That's all...
Overall: a very entertaining show. Fun to watch. I liked the ending step. In all, good music, good choreography, OK costumes! Nice job Poonam and Manish!!!
Judges' remarks:
Malaika: You were out of sync... and made mistakes
Farhan: You enjoyed yourselves, but i wish i had enjoyed it too
Saroj Khan: Steps have been repeated, choreographer had nothing new to offer, you need to have beautiful movements. Good costumes. You were nervous, but i give you that much space and margin.
Marks:
Malaika: 5/10 Farhan: 4/10 Saroj Khan: 3/10 Total: 12/30
My marks: 20/30
Jodi no. 08: Delnaaz-Rajeev
Song: Mehbooba, mehbooba...
Mehbooba, mehbooba... ooooooooooooooooooh!!! aaaaaaahh! Awesome re! This one sailed right into my heart and straight into my voting finger. Yes, this was a fabulous performance and before I say anything else, let me finish blabbing about the costumes. Delnaaz was an absolute vision in her costume... loved the colours and it simply took my breath away when she swirled and twirled in that skirt. Flowing, cascading, floating, sparkling, dazzling, graceful, gorgeous!!!
I loved the sequins and the way they sparkled there! Invoked an image of those mysterious gypsies or arabian bellydancers. Enjoyed watching that skirt more than anything else... hahahaha. And Rajeev too looked very good. I must say, their costumes were mah-vellous!
Very graceful moves, very arabian in my opinion. Great energy. I'm sure a lot of effort went into it, but Delnaaz made it look like a dream... she made it look effortless and was at complete ease. They looked comfortable and as far as I can tell, they were enjoying themselves!!! Those swirling bellydancer movements were absolutely AWESOME!
Rajeev was great this time. He added his own charm to it and the judges were most definitely charmed! He even kicked off with a very nice somersault! Delnaaz looked just like a doll! Great music. A classic masterpiece presented in a new andaaz, very good music! Applause please!!!
Overall: Fantastic job, superb chemistry... no further words from me!!!
Judges' remarks:
Malaika: You have worked very hard and taken into account our criticism. Rajeev was very enthu.
Saroj Khan: she seemed impressed with the whole thing! Who wouldn't be?
Marks:
Malaika: 7/10 Farhan: 7/10 Saroj Khan: 5/10 Total: 19/30
My marks: 25/30
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