Today's show was much better from a singing point of view. Drama also went up a notch higher. It's all starting to heat up now.
Among the guys, the competition is very tight. Harpreet sang fabulously. He has a lot of depth in his voice, and was almost flawless with the changes and flow of the song. The song itself is tough, but if you manage to sing it well, you can be sure of going through. I predicted he would get the green light even before hearing the others. Junaid was good - sur slipped a couple of places, but his voice is nice, and the talent is visible. Desh Gaurav didn't impress too much - but again, the song itself was tough, with all the harkatein, which he didn't quite get right. Musarrat has a great voice, and is a bundle of talent. But I feel he wasn't quite right with the mukhda - 'jiya dhadak dhadak' is supposed to be sung 3 times in the same breath, but he was breaking it up - it seemed like lack of breath control. But like the judges said, the antra was amazing, and on any other day, he would have gone through. As for his singing the same genre, I believe as long as he doesn't sing the exact same song, no one should have a problem with it. And it's not like he's sung 10 songs of RFAK. It's just 2 so far.
Poonam was amazing with the song. I remember Twinkle's version - I'm not going to worry about who better, but for a first performance, this was excellent. She has a great voice modulation and control - something I'd noted when I heard her sing Babuji in the intro episode (I very much enjoyed that performance too). As far as non-singing attributes go, she's got funny hair, but a cute face - I think I like her 😳. Mauli was okay, she didn't disgrace herself, but she wasn't good enough to go through either. And how tall is she!! She's even taller than Harpreet, who is a tall guy himself! 😕 I didn't realize this the first time I saw her, but this girl's a giraffe! Saberi's performance seemed a little over the top - and it didn't really touch me. Amrita chose a nice song, and sang well sur and taal-wise, but there was something missing - it seemed a little bland.
Bappi da was as usual quiet. Even his lines to contestants were the usual mehnat karo etc. Vishal again picked on another mentor's singer. I feel he doesn't need to lecture someone else's shishya on choice of song. I sense he's a little insecure, as he doesn't have that one fabulous performer that the other gharanas have. But at least he was decent enough not to answer back to Himesh. Shekhar seemed to be neglected today. The only time he spoke was when critiquing his own contestants. Ismail had another good day with his girl being the best performer of the day, and Himesh showering him with praises. Even based on the AV it seems that he spends a lot of time training his shishyas, which shows in their performances. Aur kya, waise bhi he's free nowdays 😆. Himesh, on the other hand, can't spare as much time for his shishyas. But at least he backs them to the hilt. I have no problem with his statement that there's no point being a jack-of-all-trades and master-of-none. Everyone needs to have their unique selling point, and Musarrat has it, and there's nothing wrong with exploiting it. But what surprised me was him saying that he doesn't have confidence in Musarrat singing other songs. He's gone from being overconfident in C2005 (remember Vinit and 20 20 20?) to underconfident in C2007. Himesh is a mystery we won't be able to solve even after C2007 is over. 😆
Asha ji is also an interesting package. Her credentials and value as a judge have been talked about even last week, so I won't go into those again. This time she had a solid back-and-forth with Himesh, with Himesh not content with letting her have the last word this time, but she grabbing it nonetheless 😆. She didn't leave the other mentors either, mentioning that none of them could understand that Amrita sang well, but it was simply an issue of akar and ekar (didn't quite get what it means - can someone clarify). She also went into a detailed discussion of nasal singing where the camera kept panning at Himesh 😆. The highlight of the day, however, was 'THE MOVE' - she looked in the direction of Himesh, stuck her nose up, and turned away. Trust Zee to show it twice for added effect 😉
It's a good thing Ghulam Ali saab wasn't here. As it is, he was getting wasted in this all-Asha show (and using up precious minutes).
Aditya was Aditya. I've gotten so used to him now I'd feel wierd if Shaan turned up to host one day instead. Although I'd suggest that he not stand next to Mauli (no one should stand next to Mauli, for that matter).
And some comments on the selected Eklavyas. Bappi da chose Sumedha - most people would have expected him to pick Sumana, but I have no problem with Sumedha. The girls aren't singing as well as the guys anyway, so I might as well enjoy some eye candy 😛. Himesh chose Tushar - as for the reasons, I think Ismail hit the nail on the head 😉.
All in all, an entertaining show. And if promos are any indication, tomorrow is bound to be even more explosive! I recommend that people in India go buy 1 year's stock of flour today itself. Because after tomorrow, roti prices are going to go over the roof! 😉😆