Articile:in search of the perfect voice

T he producers of Indian Idol (Sony) claim to have raised the bar for the third edition of the show. To prove their point, the three judges – Anu Malik, Alisha Chinai and Udit Narayan – were brought in on royal chairs hoisted by four men at the launch event on Thursday . Wordsmith Javed Akhtar, the fourth judge, an addition to the show, walked on a red carpet rolled out especially for him. After their grand entry Sony TV officials , gave their usual marketing spiel -- of the third season being bigger and better than its earlier avatars, of the auditions in the 12 cities being a big success (the Mumbai audi- tions are this weekend), of the jury ensur- ing that they're getting the best possible con- tenders for the show, and so on and so forth. The inclusion of Akhtar, it seems, was only to raise the calibre of the show and the jury The lyricist has been actively involved . in the auditions as a guest judge. Indian Idol 3, scheduled for a weekend telecast in May, will be hosted by Mini Mathur and Husein Kuwajerwala. Math- ur was part of the earlier two shows like Malik. Malik says, "Music composers like me have had to struggle to reach where we are today. Previous Idol winners and partici- pants Abijeet Sawant, Amit Sana and Amey Date had this platform to show their talent. Who knew about them? It's up to them to sustain the recognition. They have age on their side and I 'm sure they will make it big." Narayan says he wasn't too sure about accepting this assignment. He adds that it's being part of a team, which includes estab- lished names like Akhtar and Malik and Chinai, that made him accept the offer. He says, "Main bahut sharmila hoon. So, I don't know how I'm going to rate the per- formances?" On the composition of the jury, Akhtar says, "We have everyone associated with a song and music (a lyricist, a music compos- er and singers), which is the strength of this show." He says that the younger generation shouldn't be taken lightly and he adds, "One , should respect one another's points of view. That's the only way to learn and grow. I'm not in this show only as a judge. I'm also sure I will learn something from this experience." This is Chinai's first experience as a judge; "I can't describe what I'm looking for in Indian Idol. When you see them perform, either you're touched or not. It's not just about a good voice alone, it's also about your persona. Today's audience is more d emanding.The singers have it easier these days. The good ones will always come to the fore, she ends.