Nice post. :)
I agree with you for the most part. Although today's episode irritated me in bits. Mostly because of Terence being diplomatic again. *sigh* Oh well...
Abhik and Sneha were the stars for me today. And Raghav as well. Then Pradeep, Varun and Rajasmitha. Piyali was decent too. And then Sanam, Mohena, Neerav, Vaibhav, and Paul were all mehhh.
I'd like to ask WHAT was so great about Sanam's performance?? Honestly, I'm just plain tired of criticizing this guy. He's not star material...he just isn't. This was THE most irritating performance of this episode. Honestly, this time I was so damn annoyed I just wanted to switch off my TV. What a bore! And both Geeta and Terence were being mega diplomatic with their feedback towards him. Scripted nonsense...because anyone can see how much Sanam needs to work on his dancing.
He had ZERO personality in this performance! And he got such a fun concept/song. This song ALWAYS makes me want to "get up and dance" as per the lyrics themselves. But watching Sanam, just made me want to sleep. SO damn uninspiring...it's just irritating now. What a kachoombar he made of such a fun song. Does he even LISTEN to his music? Or just does whatever the hell he feels like doing? He wasn't having fun...and it was clear. Blahhh...he needs to leave...and it just sucks that he won't be leaving until the finals I'm sure. Which means I'll have to keep getting irritated by this guy till the very end. In previous seasons when contestants were hyped, I could STILL see why to an extent. But this guy...I just don't see it. There's nothing like a dancing star quality in him at all. He needs some major work.
I thought Vaibhav and Mohena were pretty boring too. Though not as annoying as Sanam for sure. I think Remo needs to help these guys build their PERSONALITIES. I just feel like...these guys don't really open up and FEEL the music. Their expressions are more "show off" than genuine. It's all superficial. They're not really moving TO the music...it's like they've already established what expressions they need to give...it's all rehearsed. It's not spontaneous...and soulful. It's not that spontaneous energy you get ONLY when you come on stage. It just feels too rehearsed to me. That's my major problem with these two.
And besides that, their actual dancing needs work too. Mohena was just awkward with her classical postures in her performances. Loosing balance too like Terence said. And Vaibhav too just didn't make the strong beats on time which was required for his performance. Disappointing.
All the guys today (besides Abhik and Neerav) did a similar sort of hip hop style. And hence it was pretty easy to compare Varun, Pradeep, Raghav, Sanam, Vaibhav and Paul. So on that comparison basis, I think there was a huge difference between the way Raghav, Pradeep and Varun performed vs. the way Paul, Vaibhav and Sanam performed. The differences were just so clear to me. Raghav, Pradeep and Varun all PERFORMED. That was majorly the difference. Sanam, Vaibhav and Paul THEMSELVES looked bored with their performances. They looked very underconfident too, which is so very important for hip-hop styles. I mean, just watch the intensity, ease, and the confidence with which Raghav, Pradeep and Varun performed vs. the other three guys.
And Paul...I'm just plain sick of his stupid props. I didn't even get the POINT of using those dumb props in this act of his. And his dancing was super mediocre. He wasn't even giving any expressions whatsoever and he just didn't have the force or CRISPNESS required for this style. Meh. 👎🏼
Pradeep, Varun and Raghav on the other hand had much more crispness and energy. I really don't get why Vaibhav is praised for having great expressions. I never see them. I think Pradeep is a MUCH better performer. His expressions were fantastic in his performance today. I think Terence's phrase, "flirting while dancing" was totally apt for him.
And Varun just has TOO much intensity. Quite commendable. Sad to see him leave today. There are much worse contestants...but let's not even go there.
Raghav is one SOLID contestant. Yes he's not that versatile and all, but what he does, he's pretty darn awesome at it. There isn't really any other contestant that is THAT good at their own style this season either. He's really the only one. I don't even know how he does that. Such control he has. And then he PERFORMS too. He's not just mechanically doing the movements. Quite a creative artist he is. As always, I loved his spontaneous reaction in dance to Remo's feedback for him. 😆
I just don't see the HONESTY in performing when it comes to contestants like Paul, Sanam, Mohena, and Vaibhav. Too superficial.
I thought Piyali's attempt was good. I also agreed with Terence that she had that sensuality for jazz down. Again I think she has much more control over her dancing and her expressions than Mohena. I wasn't expecting her to be mindblowingly awesome in this jazz style and she wasn't. But she didn't screw it up either. She was honest to her dance style/attempt and I appreciate that. Also, I love seeing these jazz/broadway type of dance styles from Terence...since he's really the only one that does justice to this dance style...well he's the only one that has knowledge in this field.
Rajasmitha was good too. She's been pretty consistent in her dancing. She had the intensity down. I could feel her emotions. So props for that. 👍🏼
Abhik was totally awesome. 👏 His performances always get me so excited for some reason. This guy definitely has something special about him. He just shines in his solos. Very creative choreography by Geeta and I loved the incorporation of both Kathak and Bharatnatyam dance styles. Abhik was awesome with his expressions, postures and everything. He could teach Mohena a thing or two and she's supposedly trained in this dance style. Like Terence said, he's totally becoming my favourite too. :)
Neerav on the other hand, was mehh in today's episode. He just didn't have the energy or the right postures. He wasn't MASCULINE enough for me. He was almost too graceful. Not in a good way. The way he started out...that was good because that bit required that softness and grace. But he just TOTALLY missed out on the energy. Dull performance...one which had so much potential concept wise. I didn't think he was that great expressions wise either. He wasn't really FEELING the character. He didn't go into it. He performed this act on a very superficial, uninterested manner. Meh.
And then Sneha was amazing too. I just love this girl...I really do. She's totally my favourite female contestant. I really think she's hands down the best female contestant this season! 👏 And just...how many different sides does she have to showcase through her dancing? What I love about her is that PERSONALITY that shines through when she's performing. That personality that's so inhibited and hidden when she's not performing. She's got so much depth to her. I think she's a very special dancer. There's something VERY soul touching about her. She's got the moves, dance style, strength, expressions, personality, grace, versatility...everything down. I loved the softness with which she performed today. And that upside down bit was too awesome. I reallyyy really hope she doesn't get eliminated next week...I have a bad feeling she just might. :(
All in all, it was an ok episode since there were quite a lot of irritating performances. Varun's elimination was sad...I love the bond he shares with Terence...and with Pradeep too. Aww...oh well, he can probably do much better outside of DID anyways. I'll miss watching him perform though.
Jhanak
Tum Se Tum Tak
