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A discordant note

NEW DELHI, Jan. 21. — A reality music competition ended up generating a lot of political heat as votes from the North-east for one contestant were questioned by the audience, while rival contestants sought to know if these votes were representative of the "voice of India".
More drama was added to the show with an alleged phone call from the outlawed militant outfit, Ulfa, threatening other contestants with reprisals if they did not pull out.
In line with the current trend of music talent hunts, Zee TV's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 invites viewers to vote for singers of their preference in order to save them from being eliminated. On 19 January, there were four contestants (32 started off in the competition from across 10 cities in India) featuring in the final rounds of elimination.
The fiasco started when one of the contestants was voted out and the voting pattern showed that 80 per cent of the votes bagged by Debojit, the contestant from Silchar, Assam, were from the North-east. The remaining three participants declared in unison that they would pull out from the show as the ''voting was not fair''.
The episode has further fuelled an already raging debate on whether the north-eastern region is treated fairly. A student from Assam, Ms Pranamika Dutta, pursuing her bachelor's degree in music from Miranda House, Delhi University, said: "A lady in the audience questioned the votes that Debojit had bagged from Assam, and her tone was as if Assam is not a part of India." None of the three, Vineet, Hemchandra and Himani, who threatened to withdraw from the show could explain what their grudge was. "What the incident brings to light is that some people do not see the North-east as part of the country," Ms Pallavi Kalita, a student of Daulat Ram College, said. "The North-east has a lot of talent but they do not get enough exposure," she rued.
All the students from Assam based in Delhi, whom The Statesman spoke to, complained about the step-motherly treatment that has been and continues to be meted out to people from the N-E. An executive with the communications department of ZEE TV told The Statesman that a person on the board of the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 programme received a threat call from the United Liberation Front of Asom, ''commanding'' that Debojit win the competition.
"The person who claimed to be a commander of Ulfa asked that the other competitors pull out and that has really scared them and their parents," said the executive on condition of anonymity. Mr Gajendra Singh, director and producer of the show, told The Statesman from Mumbai: "Debu is in the final three and that in itself is a tremendous achievement. The public is the best judge and there will be no change in the voting system. Hemchandra too got the maximum number of votes from his home state. Why single out Debojit? Our only focus is talent and that has been so for the past 10 years" .
Mr Singh, however, disclaimed any knowledge of the alleged threat call and said that no member of his team had received any call from Ulfa. Mr Sammujwal Bhattacharya, chairman of the North-east Students' Organisation and adviser of the All Assam Students' Union, has asked all the people of Assam to back Debojit. NESO said it saw a sinister ploy to spoil the chances of Debojit and that everyone from the N-E should support him.
Noted Assamese playback singer Tarali Sharma and Khagen Mahanta,
an eminent artiste, also rallied behind Debojit.
Yudhajit Shankar Das/SNS

Taken from:
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrs ess=1&id=103696

hehe i no paresh :D hez my m8z older brother n my m8z cousin..were from da same communityyy :D

Originally posted by: ~*Ani*~

hehe i no paresh :D hez my m8z older brother n my m8z cousin..were from da same communityyy :D

for real thats wicked man

Interesting : Read following from TOI
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1381721.cms
http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1381459.cms

yo thats some crazie stuff and i trust india times .. they are pretty reliable source

http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/23/stories/2006012304721400.htm

ULFA "threatens" television show contestants

Three of them charge that they were threatened to pull out

As per the format of the show, which is in the final stages now, the winner will be decided on the basis of public votes elicited through SMS.

New Delhi : Zee TV's music talent hunt show 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005' was in for some real-life drama with contestants and the show's brand manager allegedly being threatened by ULFA to favour a contestant from Assam.

"We received complaints from three contestants that they were threatened by ULFA militants to pull out of the show in favour of Debojit, one of the four finalists, who hails from Assam," a spokesperson for ZEE TV told PTI here.

He said the show's brand manager also got a similar call from a person who claimed to be from the ULFA and demanded that Debojit "should win the contest."

Another issue which irked the other contestants was almost 80 per cent of votes in favour of Debojit were from the northeast region. As per the format of the show, which is in the final stages now, the winner will be decided on the basis of public votes elicited through SMS.

The huge response from the northeast made the other contestants cry foul, most of whom threatened to pull out of the contest after dubbing the process as "unfair". The matter was finally resolved after the intervention of Gajendra Singh, director and producer of the show. "All the contestants have apologised for their behaviour and will continue in the show," the spokesperson said.

He added that the show was "back on track" and there would be "no change" in its format.

The show, likely to end next month, promises the winner a flat in Mumbai apart from huge amount of cash. — PTI


http://dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1009013&CatID=7

'I have forgiven them'
Sudipto Chattopadhyay
Sunday, January 22, 2006 19:04 IST


Debojit Saha decides to come clean on the controversy that shook the 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge' show, rubbishes talk of an ULFA hand.


Debojit Saha, one of the leading claimants to the crown of 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005', says he harbours no ill-will against his competitors — Vineet, Himani and Hemchandra — who publically disapproved of him on the show.

The dumbfounded boy from Silchar says the trio, who swore to be his friends, wanted to stage a walkout because he had secured the highest number of votes on the show. "I couldn't believe my ears. They were like family to me. Suddenly they began to doubt by capabilities only because I secured the highest number of votes. Is it my fault that people voted for me?"

Debojit explains the arithmetic of the voting pattern, "When they said that I had secured 80 per cent of my votes from the North-East and only two per cent from the rest of the centres, it did not mean that I scored lesser number of votes than them from the rest of India. The two percent votes from Mumbai were higher in number than the combined total of what they had earned from the same territory. I polled the highest number of votes from every region in India."

The singer says he finds the accusations that ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam) is espousing his cause ridiculous.

"If I really had ULFA links I would not have been surviving hand-to-mouth for so many years. When the top ten finalists were chosen, judges including Pandit Jasraj and Hari Prasad Chaurasia felt that we were the best. I feel sad when the same mentors now doubt my talent."

Debojit is deeply indebted to mentor Ismail Durbar who took up cudgels on his behalf when Vineet questioned his ability. "I will never forget Guruji's gesture. I am also grateful to Gajendra Singhji and salute his stupendous efforts," says an emotionally charged Debojit.

On a more wistful note he concludes, "I did not participate in 'Challenge' to win but to showcase my talent. I am sad that the show has to end on a bitter note. Even if I win I'll not be ecstatic as I have lost the love of my fellow-participants. But I have forgiven them as they are younger to me."


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1381721.cms

NEW DELHI: Zee TV's music talent hunt show 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005' was in for some real-life drama with the contestants and the show's brand manager allegedly being threatened by Ulfa insurgents to favour a contestant from Assam.

We received complaints from three contestants that they were threatened by Ulfa militants to pull out in favour of Debojit, who hails from Assam, a Zee TV spokesperson said.

See http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1381459.cms

Hi,
Here's a news which I would like to share with evry body in this forum.
HR and AS, due to thier shameless actions have been disgraced in so many places. esp in Northeast (NE), the 7 states which they think is not in INDIAN MAP.
Ppl of certain parts of NE have stopped showing those movies which involved HR's music and are burning effigy of HR and AS in places. Since, this became so clear that they not only insulted Debu, but also disgraced ppl of NE it has been taken with utmost seriousness in this part of India. I wish some body could have conveyed this news to Zee/Gajji. This can be an ery-opener to the dirty politicians like HR and AS, who don't deserve to be called as musicians.
I am trying to find out the link for this news in the web. Neways, it is 100% true, anybody can verify if want so.

kajol. this is a good news for us .
thanks.

Voting Right?
(India Today Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)On Zee TV's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa
Challenge 2005, 8,000 votes came from a single phone number in
Gujarat.

In Nach Baliye, Rajiv and Delnaz Paul's relatives gave them immense
support-translated, that means over 2,000 SMS votes.

In the piano rounds of Indian Idol 2, the margins between contestants
were so narrow that the judges' favourite Dilpreet Kaur missed getting
into the galas by less than 300 votes.

In Fame Gurukul, Qazi amassed 1.5 crore votes while Ruprekha,
considered a far better singer, had less than a crore votes.

When was the last time you saw a reality TV show and agreed with the
verdict? Chances are, you can't remember. Reality show results now
resemble Meteorological Department forecasts: consistent only in being
off the mark.

This has left discerning viewers fuming and judges flummoxed. "People
are not always anti-judges, but if there are six-seven singers who are at
par, audiences choose the easy way out by going for either a person from
their region or for someone who cried more or to whom the judges were
rude. Ultimately everyone wants to play God," says singer Sonu Nigam, a
judge on Indian Idol on Sony, which is currently in its second season.



Take a recent episode of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005, where Nihira
Joshi, considered a brilliant singer, was voted out mercilessly. It was
enough to drive judge Ismail Durbar into saying that audiences didn't
know how to vote. TV titans are getting used to such disastrous
surprises, ever since Ravinder Ravi, a painter from Punjab, became a
staple on Indian Idol 1. On Indian Idol 2, say insiders, at least four of the
final 12 have no business to be on stage. The problem is so acute that
this time, talented contestants such as Mumbai's Jyotsna Navandar-who
was told on air by judge Farah Khan that she was confident, good-looking
and talented and should, therefore, accept that she would not get in,
which is what happened-did not make it to the final. In Challenge 2005,
Debojit Saha from Assam upstaged favourite Vinit Singh, with the second
highest percentage of votes, 19, in one episode because of mass voting
from Assam.

So, is India voting right? Is the best man or woman winning? No doubt the
power game has undergone a paradigm shift. From being handed
winners, gasps and all, the new crop of reality shows has effected a
transfer of power, from TV czars to couch potatoes. As Khan had joked
last year, "People don't care about voting in elections, but they definitely
want to register their vote for the contest." With Indian Idol 1 clocking
around 5.5 crore votes and Fame Gurukul a shade under that, most talent
hunts in India have seen a huge outpouring of votes.

An outpouring that is clouded by emotion. From Fame Gurukul's Qazi to
Manish and Poonam Goel, the celebrity couple who unexpectedly became
runners up in StarOne's dance show Nach Baliye, reality shows are
charting their own trend. It's about talent, yes, but as much about where
you come from, how you manipulate the audience's tear ducts and how
much they think you 'need' the prize. "We are a country of the
underprivileged, so viewers use their power to give an opportunity to the
person they think needs it," says Tarun Katial, business head, Sony
Entertainment Television.

"People vote with their hearts and tend to dislike someone who is pushy,
arrogant or well-off," says Nikhil Alva, president, Miditech, the production
house that handles both Indian Idol and Fame Gurukul. Examples abound:
Amit Tandon in Idol 1 and Paresh Madhaparia in Challenge 2005. Idol
judge Anu Malik hazards a guess: "Maybe it's a sad story that moves
people." Amar K. Deb, head, Channel [V], recalls a contestant auditioning
for Super Singer last year who made it a point to tell the judges that he
was dedicating the song to the girlfriend he had lost in 9/11. Knowing
the right buttons to press is almost as important as knowing in which key
to sing.

Whatever the show, the underdog is winning. Nach Baliye had viewers
peeved when two favourite couples Archana Puran Singh-Parmeet Sethi
and Apurva Agnihotri-Shilpa Saklani were voted out midway. "I think what
worked in our favour was that both Poonam and I had strong TV careers
and were a hit jodi in Kasautii... Audiences in India are very sensitive; they
vote for religion or on sympathy. People told me Sachin had a strong
Maharashtrian backing and would get huge votes because of that," says
Manish.

Winners Sachin and Supriya garnered 73 per cent of the votes cast in the
final, but knowing the way audiences were voting, no one was sure.
Deepak Segal, executive vice-president, content, Star India, says to
maintain the tenets of democracy, votes should be capped at one vote per
phone-on Nach Baliye, the limit was 10 votes from every number.

With Star (Plus and One) ready to run four more reality contests (Jodi
Kamaal Ki, The Great Indian Laughter Challenge 2, Heart Attack and Nach
Baliye 2) and four shows on Sony (Idol 2, Fame Gurukul 2, desi versions of
Fear Factor and Big Brother), expect a veritable deluge.
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/01/23/1305697.htm

By public demand, really?

Kshama Rao

Mumbai, January 23, 2006











Advertisement


They say 'Yeh jo public hai, yeh sab jaanti hai'.

But ask Rahul Saxena (one of the early and big upsets of the first edition
of Indian Idol), Nihira Joshi and Himani Kapoor (two of the top contenders
at the ongoing Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge), Shilpa and Apoorva Agnihotri
and Archana Puran Singh and Parmeet Sethi (celebrity couples who were
part of the recently concluded Nach Baliye) and they would probably tell a
different story.

For all of them have borne the brunt of the unpredictability of 'audience
voting' on these shows.

Audience voting -- an off shoot of reality shows like Indian Idol, Sa Re Ga
Ma, Fame Gurukul, Nach Baliye etc -- is lucrative for the channels but,
most often than not, an unfair elimination system for the participants,
which gives the right to the audience to 'sms' or vote in their favourites.

While audience voting is mainly used as a device to get the viewers
involved in a show, it also adds to the drama (especially when the results
throw up unexpected exits) and is also a revenue-generating tool (all the
tie-ups with cellular phone services help, you see) for the channels.

Besides, while the judges may strictly focus on the 'singing', the audience
tends to get emotional about the contestants.

For instance, a contestant who comes from a modest background or
maybe from their native village, may receive a lot of audience support
compared to somebody who they perceive as one who could easily get
another opportunity.

Talking about audience votes, keeping the 'drama' quotient high when a
20-something Sagar Savarkar, an Idol 2 finalist -- widely tipped to be
Abhijeet Sawant's successor -- is ousted in the first round itself, weeps
inconsolably on national television, it is indeed a 'TRP moment'.

Or for that matter when upset contestants stomp out of a show because
somebody else got the majority vote, it's ideal fodder for reality TV.

Speaking of the channel perspective, Nina Jaypuria, vice president,
marketing and communication, Sony, says an audience vote is "To give
the viewers a chance to select their own representative. At least Indian
Idol is for the people, by the people and of the people. Yes, a lot of
factors do come into play when the viewers vote.

"For instance, people were voting for Ravinder Ravi of Channel [V] super
singer for a long time because he came from a modest background but
after some point they didn't see an Idol in him. The judges can be given
the sole right to choose the winner but it's something else when your own
country chooses you. I don't think only viewers' vote adds to the drama.
Even if the judges had to put Sagar out of the show, he would have still
wept because that's reality TV."

Shaan, host of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa has a slightly different opinion. "I think the
audience vote is not always fair but again, as far as my show is
concerned, it's been pretty decent. When it comes to judging a singer, the
audience doesn't just hear the voice, to them the way the contestant
looks, walks, smiles, talks everything matters while a judge may just go
for the voice quality.

"Having said that, the judges too sometimes look for different things and
so there could be a disparity there too. All said and done, I still feel
letting the audience solely decide on what could be the most important
decision of somebody's career is not right."

Ask Nihira who was one of the mentors' favourites and a strong
contender for winning the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa contest if she thinks the
audience is fair and she says, "Yes, the audience should have a right to
vote for their favourite simply because at the end of the day it's they who
buy your album. When I entered the contest I was mentally prepared for
any outcome. As I look at it, the audience votes can help a show in
deciding what kind of a person or winner they are looking for."

However her mentor and music director Ismail Durbar feels that "if a good
singer like Nihira can be out of the contest, then Himani's ouster is not
surprising. I think the audience also looks to the judges for some
direction and if the judges themselves make dishonest decisions, then
why blame the audience? I think the audience should decide for
themselves and not be swayed by other factors."

Says Varun Badola, "Contestants who find favour with the audience would
always want a vote. It's a subjective issue. In a reality show, it's the audi
ence vote which deter mines the drama and hence is required. Have your
viewers vote, but don't hand over the entire responsibility to them."

So while audience voting does give the viewer a right to choose and a
sense of responsibility, it's also important for the viewer to use it sensibly
and vote with conscience.



http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1605969,0035.htm