Mentoring and lit candles on Lux Junoon… Kuchh Kar

by Tellywatch News Desk

Aug 01, 2008, Mumbai

In the midst of confusion and mayhem which ruled this week's episode of NDTV Imagine's popular musical reality show, Junoon..., fireworks, fluxmoxes and never-before-seen mentoring was the highlight of the episode.

The confusion element was rung in by the gharanas being switched…Sufi Ke Sultans will be swinging to folk song while the Maati Ke Lal will be grooving to some peppy Bollywood numbers and the Badshaash will be singing some soulful sufi gaane. Now, that was enough to send singers into a tizzy.

A close source on the set let it slip by how confusion caught a top-notch contender Malini Awasthi in a situation, which left her almost near tears. Malini Awasthi of Maati Ke lal was very upset with her song selection of 'Aaja Nachle', which marked Madhuri Dixit's comeback to Bollywood. Malini belongs to a breed of singers who sings from her soul. But the choice of song left her in a fix. She was unable to match up to her previous standards. And Ila Arun noticing the lack of soul in her singing immediately stopped Malti from continuing her song.

Not only that, Ila infact went a step ahead and offered Malini a choice of songs. When we contacted her, she said, "I realize Malini's potential and I knew something was lacking. I'm a singer and I know how difficult it is to perform when your heart is not in the song."

Kudos to the mentor who unlike our other reality shows judges put down the singer; Ila Arun did something, which has probably been never done before. But, lady luck wasn't favoring Malini. Down on her first tryst, she was completely shattered and her second rendition was on a equally bad footing. But, looks like fate had a different tale to spin when it came to Malini.

Not one mentor, but our top-notch contender has two in the wings. Anand Raj Anand stepped in and nudged her to sing the same 'Aaja Nachle' rendition. A little encouragement went a long way for Malini and before the judges realised, she swept them off their feet with her magical notes.

Now, it is a known fact that things aren't hunky dory between the singing duo. So, when we asked Ila Arun about the little nudge, which took Malini to soaring heights, she said, "We are singers and it is a delight to see others perform." But if we were to read between the lines, looks like there is trouble brewing in paradise between the two mentors.

This week's episode was all about humane touch. In the wake of terror attacks with the recent serial blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, Lux Junoon… Kuchh Kar Dikhaane Ka is dedicated to the victims of the tragedy who have lost their lives and lost their loved ones. The contestants begin their performance by getting together to pay homage to the victims of these horrific events with a joint performance of 'Ishwar Ya Allah' from the film Pukar. Emotions ran high amongst the audience. The choked audience joined the contestants in raising lit candles to lend their support. Sufi ke Sultan mentor Rahat Fateh Ali Khan also joins in the spirit with his poignant performance.