I feel Puja has a superiority complex and feels she is better than other contestants. I had always suspected this, but I was about to change my mind in recent episodes. But after reading her exit interview (see below), I have to say I am convinced. This whole 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, Prashant, Chang and Ankita are only here for winning, they don't care about singing, and they don't know how to sing with feeling? Only she, Emon, Deepali, and Amit sing from the heart, the others are worthless. How can she make such an unwarranted statement about their intentions. Prashant, Chang and Ankita are decent people and sing well, and to mock them and discredit them like this is really not nice.
Also, her comments about Ankita (though it is okay for Puja to hate 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, she learnt everything from me and Deepali. She 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 harking on about her "training", about how singing is only good if you are "trained" otherwise you are useless. Seriously, if she had said Ankita and Chang need to improve that is okay, but to call them bakwaas just because they are not trained, is the height of it! 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. No wonder Emon said his best friend was Deepali, not Puja even though Emon and Puja are both Bengalis.
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
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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.
Again, thank you guys for keeping this topic clean and arguing so darn well! I am very impressed😊
Anupamaa
