Vote’s the good word

Prashant Tamang becoming the third Indian Idol has prompted many to feel that in reality shows singing counts less than votes. But producers of the show are happy with the public frenzy their contestants have generated over the past few months.

A Kolkata police constable, Prashant was adjudged the Idol with more than 7 crore votes shared between him and Amit Paul (the runner-up). However, the number of votes acquired by these talent hunt shows have triggered a debate amongst critics whether they focus on talent hunting or is it just a game for maximum TRPs. Many may argue that the main aim behind introducing public voting has nothing to do with talent, but more to do with the television channel making money. There are others who say that these shows have provided a platform for singers from all over the country.

Jatin Pandit, music composer, says, "I agree that most talent hunt shows depend on TRPs and hence they have introduced the concept of public voting. This has not only undermined the role of judges, but has also overshadowed real talent. In Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, Gajendra Singh has introduced a new concept of power sharing where the power of judgement will be equally vested in both the judges and the public in a 50-50 ratio, which I think is a first-of-its-kind initiative."

Another aspect of these shows is the lack of transparency. Many complain that the audience should be made aware of the procedure through which these talent hunt shows count the number of votes. Speaking about the issue, tabla player Vijay Ghate says, "One should always keep in mind that 'what is popular is not always right'. Though we all know the TRP factor behind such shows, judges should be given ultimate power as they are experts. Moreover, I strongly advocate the need for more transparency in the system of vote counting as the audience would like to know who are counting the votes and under what circumstances."

However, refuting the notion, Albert Almida, vice chairman, Sony Entertainment Television says, "Like other talent hunt shows, Indian Idol too has its own format. As far as the counting of votes is concerned, we have a very credible audit system. We don't want to make it public because that goes against our format. For us popularity is the first priority."

Chairman of the Indian Music Academy and Pandit Jasraj's daughter, Durga offered a liberal and alternate view to this issue. She says, "Before talking about TRPs and the role of judges, one should know that these are reality shows. I don't understand why people are creating a big fuss. When I did a show for the first Indian Idol, I saw how votes are counted and I must mention that the counting procedure is computerised without any scope for errors."

Whatever experts may say, people are more than happy to have the power to select their favourite star through voting. At a time when experts and detractors are finding ways to stabilise the problem of regional and biased voting, people or for that matter a few talent hunt show winners are more than happy to vote.

Speaking about the issue, Vasudha, member of the popular band Aasma says, "I think the involvement of people in such shows is a great concept. During our show this concept wasn't there, but it has really made these shows more fun to watch. I support the public voting system because unlike the judges, who only care about the voice and sense of music, the public looks at other aspects such as performance and how good the participant is as a human being, which I think is a very important criteria."