I feel a little strange writing about this episode because a thunderstorm disrupted transmission here for the most part. Nevertheless, just to get the ball rolling, I will writing about the performances I did see.
Sumitra continues to perform flawlessly in technical terms--sur, taal, etc. pretty much never go off. However, the singing has a strained quality to it. The tune is not flat (as in tuneless) but still comes out tinny and in spite of her mobile face and dancing, to my mind, it is inexplicably lacking in expression. Sumitra has a lot of critics on this forum and I am not one of them. Rather, based on the performances I did get to see last night, I still think that she is one of the better contenders in Bemisaal 12. But she needs to review her own performances on You Tube to improve. And in the case of Maiyya Maiyya, I happened to watch Mauli Dave on You Tube and suggest Sumitra do the same to contrast what was missing in the singing. I am NOT talking about performance at all. To my mind, although it seems to have become important post-Mirande's Geela Geela, it is still not as important a criterion.
Sumitra's grade: B+
I also saw Irfan. He was okay. Not as good as in his Tere Bina and Alvida performances. Sur was okay, but he consistently started a little before the actual beat. If you keep time with the orchestra, you will notice this rather obviously. He also seemed rather enthusiastic (and that may have been why he started before the taal) but at the same time, the singing lacked the depth and energy that the song calls for. It is a beautiful song, both in lyric and melody, and neither shone in his performance. Prasoon Joshi's comment was on the mark.
Irfan's grade: B- (Taal slipped)
Transmission died when they showed Abhilasha entering her home. It returned briefly when Ishmeet, Toshi and Arshpreet were being introduced.
Ishmeet was not good yesterday. Maybe we are used to him singing 'sukoon-bhare' geet but 'Tenu leke' did not sound right from him. I think that he was a little off sur and taal. Not like Irfan but more as if to prove Sanchari's point that moving shakes your sur! The jumping around did not enhance his performance, in my view, although he certainly seemed more relaxed than usual. Trying to articulate what it sounded like to me: as if someone cut a rubber-band so it stretched but lacked the requisite tension to lend purpose to its elasticity.
Ishmeet's grade: B
Arshpreet's performance had barely started when the transmission went out again. But I saw enough to wonder about the Mirande effect and to wonder where the girl in the white salwar kameez who sang 'Justujoo jiski thi' disappeared. I will not comment on her singing because really, I did not hear enough.
The transmission resumed when Harshit, Priyani and Abhas were being introduced.
Sorry, I still don't get the hype about Harshit. He is okay. I will grant that his sur and taal are generally pucca but what I said two weeks ago about his performance lacking something, remains true to my mind even now. After Sumitra, I cannot say he was the least melodious, but still, his singing is just not working for me.
Harshit's grade: B+
Priyani must have been happy to not have Alka Yagnik around. Her singing was what it usually is and it did not impress me yet again. I think she went off sur at least once.
Priyani's grade: B, and I am giving her this B because I just did not care enough for the singing for it to register more than this.
They saved the best (of what I saw) for the last. These kids that have grown up in front of our eyes have a special place in many of our hearts, but some of them also reinforce that place with their performances. Abhaas is so young that his sunglasses and dancing were a delight to watch and I wanted to say to this child, Dekha jo tujhe yaar, dil mein baji guitar. But when Abhaas watches himself on video, he is going to catch the three-four times when sur slipped... even for him. Nevertheless, there was so much life in the singing, so much melody, so much genuine joy, that I am going to give this child a higher grade than the technical stuff might suggest.
Abhaas' grade: A
A few words on the Mirande effect: When you dance or move in your performance, that movement should seem a part of your breath, the way the laya is moving your body for you. That laya is a natural thing and you see it in most of the singers in the Bemisaal 12. But some have moved and emoted all along and in others, it appears to my eyes as if they have suddenly decided this is what it will take to win votes. It would be very easy to overstate this, and I don't want to do that, but the words that come to me are: movement should be joy, should be breath and should be expressive of all rasas, not just shringara.
Performance is not just seduction--it is expression. Harshit and Abhaas showed this yesterday, I think, in slightly different ways. Sumitra and Mirande have always had this quality in their singing, and so does Abhilasha when her entire face moves to express the lyric. Abhaas, Mirande and Abhilasha manage to sound melodious even when they move and with Mirande's Geela Geela performance, the movement and expression seemed so natural compared to Arshpreet and Priyani yesterday.
What do you think?
And how can I end without a word on the judges... except what I want to express is not expressible in words. Picture instead, someone sitting with her head between her hands in exasperation. Alka, Alka, come back soon!
I am pasting my grading code here as an aide-memoire:
A+ : truly outstanding. Like Abhilasha from the past weeks. 10
A : flawless on sur, taal; sounded really good. 9
B+: flawless on sur, taal. 8
B: near-flawless on sur, taal. 7
C+: sur, taal slipped. 6
C: sur, taal slipped often. 5
D: sur and taal clearly optional. 4
CID
Cricket
