Viewers open your eyes or rather ears!!!. Review on Fame Gurukul

Fame Gurukul, as the name suggests should be a program where all the talented and dedicated singers will be imparted education same way as it happened hundred of years ago with the same seriousness and respect for the Gurus.

But I am so sorry so say that this program smells all of bad politics. Well I may sound too harsh but it is very obvious what is going on onstage and offstage. Well I will list my analysis point wise:

1.

The rules say that one of the three participants who are in danger will be called back to gurukul by audiences’ votes. ‘Qazi’ who apparently has no singing ability is put into danger four times and out of which he was saved three times by the viewers, one time is still left. (Viewers take notice he seriously lacks the singing ability).

2.

It is obvious that neither the judges nor the fellow participants think he should be saved at the cost of good singers like KIRTI who was brutally victimized by the politics.

3.

Now having made the mistake of selecting him in final 14, faculty and judges are trying hard to persuade viewers to vote him out.

4.

Supporting my last argument I would like to quote the scenes where Qazi was shown claiming that he will work hard, practice and will not leave any stone unturned to give a good performance and in the next scene Shamit and Gurpreet were singing their hearts out, practicing and Qazi sleeping right next to them. Again on the show on Wednesday (August 3, 2005) the judges and the show anchor were very specific in stressing that being a singer is more important than being a actor, a performer. As if like clearing their own spilt milk.

My comments on this show: The rules are absurd.

When judging a singing talent the judges (read viewers) should have deep understanding of the art. Though the judges who are there on stage are the masters but they are given as little power as just declaring 4 participants “Aap khatre mein hain”. They can’t go beyond that and declare someone like Qazi unfit for singing (We must not forget that this is a singing competition and basic requirement for anyone to participate is that s/he should know singing). They were merely spectators when KIRTI, one of the best singers they had, had to leave the show. The viewers, a very small percentage of which will be having requisite knowledge to judge, are moved by emotions, style, looks etc… I will ask just one question:

“If tomorrow Qazi wins and Sony spends the amount of money it has promised on Qazi and he is not able to sing properly (which judges have stressed so many times) then are we ‘THE VIEWERS’ going to spend our own hard earned money and buy the cassette and CDs with the same empathy we are showering on him right now?”

We must understand that this all has a commercial aim and in the end all everybody cares for is money. Even Qazi who looks so innocent on screen is playing his cards so that in the end he can earn money and so is everyone. If Arijeet has sounded selfish then I would say that he at least had the guts of being honest and spitting it out in front of the camera. No one there is for charity, they are all there to WIN… whatever it takes. And before meeting everyone else on the Gurukul they didn’t even know each other so the point of friendship doesn’t come into picture. They are a family no doubt but none of them should forget they are COMPETITORS first and should not let the spirit of competition die. They should be selfish enough to say I will win and I will support myself over the others.

I am not against Qazi or anyone in particular. I seriously think he should try his hand in acting. And also I feel that he is in self denial mode and too immature so that contradicting his own statements. He looks like a kid next door and that is why our protective instincts are stirred every time we see him asking for votes.

I am not very pleased with the way the show is going. I would rather suggest Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 on Zee over this. That show has managed to retain the quality and the seriousness of singing. There the judges are everything and they have the power to take decisions.

I think fame Gurukul should better alter some of the rules which is directly affecting the quality of singing and competition. The judges should be empowered more and they should be given power to JUDGE and decide who sings better and who doesn’t. This program is miles off mark from the projected goal of GURU – SHISHYA parampara.