Originally posted by: shadyhtown
I saw today's episode, and I had so many thoughts going through my mind that I simply had to express them. Before I start, let me tell you that I am a BS supporter, so you can take that into perspective.
The episode started, as usual, with a toss. Can we please get rid of this farce, Gajji? Call it a coincidence or what you may, but the toss has been used 3 times so far, UA have been given heads each time, and guess what, it's been heads all 3 times! Are you sure it's not the Sholay coin – Rohit?? The first time, UA choose to 'bat', 2nd time it's 'fielding', and third time – surprise surprise – 'batting' again..
Today's round was an Alka/Abhijeet special (well.. more like an Alka super-special – all songs were hers). And that generally means slow-paced, soft romantic songs. Which is UA's specialty – they are amazing in those type of songs. BS, on the other hand, are more comfortable with the faced-paced, non-traditional songs. Hmmmmm…
Back during C2005, Abhilash had analyzed a finale episode between Vinit and Debojit, where we had three singers as judges – Sandesh Shandilya, Shantanu Moitra, and Pritam Chakraborty. All the 6 songs – 2 each – happened to be Sonu Nigam songs, and Abhi declared this to be quite unfair, as it was home ground for Vinit. Using the same argument, I will say that today's songs were home ground for UA. Not only are U and A more comfortable with the kind of songs provided, but their voices also suit Alka and Abhijeet. Can't say the same for Sharib and Banjyotsna. In the case of Banjo, expecting her to sing Alka songs is like asking Nihira to sing Jaspinder Narula songs. No no no – not comparing B and N; simply using an example to show that the voices don't match. B is more suited to Sunidhi Chauhan than Alka Yagnik.
But that doesn't take away from the performances – and yes, UA were the superior performers today. Aishwarya, in particular, was excellent. Ujjaini again faltered on the higher notes – this really is getting to be a regular blemish on the talented singer. She was particularly shrill on the 'Naaaaam' in the 'Tera Naaaam likh diya' song in the final round (how did they get 7 for that??). Her assigned MD commented on her high note problems, Alka commented on it in 2 songs, and wonder of wonders – even Leslie commented on that. So it turns you do have a musical brain, Les.
Sharib was nice, but not as good as Aishwarya. Ash had the perfect tone to match Abhijeet, while Sharib's voice didn't suit it. Note in the 2nd song where they were asking him to stress longer and softer on the notes, Abhijeet style, but Sharib found it difficult. Don't worry Sharib – hopefully we'll have a Sonu or Udit or Rafi episode, and you can sing openly. As for Banjo, everyone has already stressed too much on how she let Sharib down – so I won't repeat it again. Buck up Banjo, and demand YOUR type of songs next time.
Why does it seem to me like everything is being done in order to help ensure that UA win? For starters, they have the better MD. Anand Sharma is much more qualified than the other person (forgot his name), and we could see that in the advice they gave to their respective contestants. When B asked her MD what she was doing wrong – he gave an answer along the lines of, 'you're doing something wrong – we don't know what'. And when S asks him about their mistakes in the Rabba song, he goes into a monologue about accepting criticism. In fact, the choreographer guy sounded more helpful that him. Why was he even chosen to help BS? Wasn't he the one who launched into an angry tirade against them a few weeks back? And he also picked on Sharib last week. This guy has a temper, is rude, insensitive, doesn't like BS, and is a lousy choice for them.
Then there's also the issue of assigning each host to support each jodi. Is that necessary? Can't we show both of them as neutral? Picture this – a popular TV star and movie actor supports one jodi, a relatively unknown lady with no real credentials or fan-following supports the other jodi. Who do you suppose the common voter would be more influenced by?
And why was the mike suddenly conked out for Sharib in the 2nd song? Please don't mess up a singer's flow in your quest to create controversy, Gajji. It's simply not worth the TRPs! Even the musicians weren't good with the track for that particular song. And Alka ji said as such. They needed to go review the beats in the actual song. Here it didn't sound like the original.
Leslie. This guy never fails to bewilder me. What he says is not what he wants, what he wants is not reflected in his stars, what the stars mean – I doubt even he understands. In the first round, he says UA were thanda in chemistry, monotonously stood in one place, and didn't 'use the stage'. Then he gives them 6 stars, for what? Right after them come BS, they 'use the stage', use an imaginary prop, get some positive comment from Les, and still end up getting only 5 stars. What does this guy even want?? In the next round, worried, BS 'use the stage' even more, and get even fewer stars. Seems nothing can please Leslie. Most of the time it looks like he doesn't know whether to rate for singing or for chemistry. This guy doesn't even seem to have a mind of his own. When Rohit shouted 'fantastic' to BS' final performance, Leslie followed suit, and when Abhijit derided them, he covered up saying his fantastic was only because they had improved, but they will only worthy of 4 stars. And if he had any credibility left, he lost it all when he succumbed to Abhijeet's requests for a 7th star for UA.
And Abhijeet. Where do I start? Why do they keep calling this idiot back every time? He always ends up making a fool of himself and embarrassing everyone connected with the show. The world has already seen his C2005 Grand Finale antics. Back then, it seemed as if he was punch drunk. Today, it seemed he was on a double dose of PHP. He seemed 'high' right from the beginning. As soon as he came, he announced aloud that all the judges would have a unanimous verdict on the best jodi – as if they had sat at the back with Gajji and decided upon that. And for him, it was UA from the start. In the first round, he compared them favorably to Alka and Hariharan for that specific song – are you serious?? In any case, Alka and Hari didn't seem to agree. In the 2nd round, he said Ash was 90% as good as the original, and he would be 19 to his 20 (please don't tell me he's getting HR's 20-20 hangover) while Sharib was more like 10. (By the way, 19 out of 20 is 95%, not 90. Great Math!!) And in the third round, he again went overboard. Yes, Abhijeet, UA were very good today, but please keep your excitement and enthusiasm in check – no need to get overzealous. It starts looking fake, and then the back-door planning starts becoming visible. The worst was when he literally begged (or was it bullied) Leslie into giving them the extra star for that oh-so-lovely 14. You're a guest, stay as a guest, no need to behave like an interfering a**!
On the other hand, he was very sharp with Sharib. Alka ji was nice enough to support Sharib, who had sung well without good support from Banjo. He was simply ruthless in some places - especially his retort when Sharib was trying to explain about his health. (Okay that's not a good excuse, but everyone from U to A to B has used it at some point in time, and they weren't shouted at like this). And, in the end, when they had their best performance of the day, what was the need to tell Sharib, "You've improved, but you're not the best"?? That, to me, reeks of bias, insecurity, jealousy – take your pick.
All in all, a stomach churning day, thanks to the behavior, attitude, and obvious bias that seemed to be in place for UA. Just my opinion.
By the way, this is how I feel the individual performers ranked today.
1) Aishwarya - Excellent
2) Ujjaini/Sharib - Couldn't stand Ujjaini's high note problem, Sharib also not at his best
3) Banjyotsna - Forgettable day
Overall, UA were better today.
very very well said shady! 👏
agree with u
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Cricket
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
