| The airwaves are buzzing with musical talent these days. If you can call it musical talent, that is. Young hopefuls from all the over the country have been thronging the various talent hunt auditions that have spread like a virus across the length and breadth of India. And it is at their expense that the rest of the country is enjoying its primetime. The first two weeks of Indian Idol on Sony and Sa Re Ga Ma Challenge on Zee have been an endless round of desperate singing, offkey renditions and soulful melodies, all ending in either doldrums or exultations. The fight to get to Mumbai and among the shortlisted finalists is still being fought in the smaller towns. The dangling carrot of an opportunity to spend weeks in the limelight and a possible crown has drawn all kinds of talent and non talent to the auditions, and the show makers have made hay. Picking out the weirdos, the manic depressives and the pretty faces, all in that important attempt at erasing competition and ensuring ratings. At the end of the day, does anyone remember that neither the Idols, nor the Sa Re winners and the Antakshari emperors are remembered for long, either by the country or the channels that spawn them? Even the first Indian Idol, Abhijeet Sawant, is struggling to make a mark in the industry. Others like Himani, who made it to the final three of the Sa Re..Challenge last year, have managed to land a job as the hostess of the Zee Antakshari. But that's as far as the adulation and appreciation goes. | Nevertheless, you had participants grovelling for a chance in last week's Indian Idol. Judge Annu Malik is now the kingpin among the three judge panel, blithely overriding the more tame Alisha Chinai and Udit Narayan. The judges, both on Idol and on Zee's Challenge, obviously have been told to go the acrimonious, bitchy way and seem to be happily acceding to the instructions. Last week, you had iconic singer Asha Bhosle actually slugging it out with composer Bappi Lahiri over the chance a participant should get! Over on the rival Antaksharis, singer actor Karan Oberoi who replaced comedy man Sunil Pal is doing a better job than his predecessor, but clearly isn't too comfortable gelling with the kiddies special that's going on right now. The three celeb kid judges (last year's winners again! - Diwakar, Sanchita and Sameer) are making hay too - staying in the public eye helps, whether as participant, judge or whatever! Star's Antakshari is going in for a season break shortly. This is the one show that's been consistent without much reliance on gimmicks. Host Annu Kapoor and hostess Juhi Parmar keep the adrenaline levels up enough for the show to ride on! But the plethora of music shows is doing nothing to raise awareness of music or even to find real talent. The X factor that all the channels seem keen to find is just a combination of camera appeal and a reasonable voice....but where does that X factor take the winners eventually? Where are the Kazis and Ruprekhas gone? Does anyone care?
| If there is a good celeb music talent show on, it's currently on Zee Marathi. The Pallavi Joshi anchored show is an adaptation of the mentor driven Sa Re Challenge on parent Zee. But the varied 'specialist' judges that the show brings in every week, sets the show apart, adds to the musical general knowledge of the viewer and actually evaluates each celeb participant objectively. Last week, a 75 year old iconic folk singer from Maharashtra, regaled with his knowledge, flair and range of music so much, that even the celeb participants like Sumeet Raghavan (yes, he sings too!) were left open mouthed. If only Hindi channels could take a cue from such shows. | |
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