(P)Agla Kaun?. Review on Indian Idol II

I could start off a healthy debate as to whether the show produced by Sony TV in collaboration by Simon Fuller is indeed Indian Idol, or Indian Ideal, or for that matter Indian Idle. For most computer geeks, it could also mean Indian Idot with a missing ‘i’, the poor souls not knowing where to plant it.

There are many arguments for and against the show and most of them are probably right, anyway, when considered in different contexts. Whatever maybe your perception of the show, it is true that the whole of India’s teenagers do watch this show, and enjoy it too. It’s an out and out teen show (not a ‘toon show’, which is what octogenarians think) – teen audience, teen contestants, and teen pathos. There are adults too who watch this show despite adopting a politically correct stance. Believe me, they watch this show, no matter what they say to the contrary.

Basically, it’s a talent hunt show (unless you are Sallu bhai in which case you’ll be pardoned in mistaking it for a deer hunt), where one contestant is shot every week, well almost, by the audience. Aman Verma (whose middle name, not surprisingly, rhymes with Ghutan) and Mini (why not Tiny or Teeny?) Mathur are the scalawags who anchor with rancor. The poor contestants die a thousand deaths, if that were possible, because of their wretched ‘you’re dead’ kind of glances directed towards the nervous contestants one of whom would finally be eliminated from the next episode.

Even the tolerant audience would go something like “immerse the goddamned anchors in a cistern of boiling oil and let’s hear them shriek” as one break after another stretches a 20 minute show to a full hour, or even more (yawn). The result is finally announced by the dawdling duo sending the bored audience into a tizzy – obviously, a more deserving contestant is eliminated... and the two exchange diabolical glances between them almost murmuring “ God, I really enjoy doing this show...”

The much maligned judges - Anu Malik, Sonu Nigam, and Farah Khan stage a pre-conceived (but, appearing natural and spontaneous) walkout drawing inspiration from Ismail Darbar of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa fame. Reason – the more talented Amay Date’s tryst with Idolhood is fatally compromised. Then follow scenes of emotion and betrayal that would probably make Kkekta Kkapoor feel like an utter novice. None expected Anuj Sharma to get into the “top three”, not even Anuj, but I must grant this boy his due – he responded with great maturity beyond his years, and kept his head while the others around him (including the judges) were losing theirs. The same thing goes for Amay Date, but I do feel the ‘teri bindiya’ kind of beard he sported was ill advised. Anuj was lucky to have come this far after being eliminated in the Piano round. But Dame Luck is finicky; it deserts you just when you begin to believe it’s on your side. And poor Anuj was guilty of trusting his luck rather than talent.

How long can a crow compete with a cuckoo? The bubble had to burst... and it did for Anuj. However, Anuj must draw heart from one irrefutable fact – his singing has improved leaps and bounds beyond the standards of his own moderate talents. It will do a lot for his confidence in future. That leaves the dashing Sandeep Acharya and the immensely talented Karunya, to train their claws at each other’s throats. Alternatively, they could use their chords (can anyone tell the geeks it’s not the cable) more constructively to mesmerise the audience with their singing. If the two soft spoken and peace loving contestants do decide to go for the second option then the advantage clearly shifts towards Karunya who has mastered the art of singing.

Unless, Sandeep draws a rabbit out of the hat, Karunya is likely to sail through singing “kawa kawa.” Now, kawa can also mean crow and that is what Karunya might slyly be hinting at Sandeep. I like Sandeep’s smile and do believe that his smile is his most important asset at the moment. Abhijeet too had a winning smile and many talented contestants like Prajakta Shukre, Aditi Pal, Rahul Vaidya, and Amit Sana fell by the wayside. In that sense, Sandeep has an advantage and also possesses ‘chocolate looks.’ He is good at soft romantic numbers, but croaks in the higher octaves.

Karunya, who was told by the judges that he resembles Abhishek Bachan has unfortunately started believing them. I am trying to figure out from which angle he resembles Abhishek, and I have failed miserably so far. That prompted me to install a software package (no I am not lending it to you) that sorts out and compares faces taking into account more than one lakh features of the face. Because of the highly complicated nature of the work it may take my PC anywhere between 2 and 4 years. I’ll let you know whether or not Karunya resembles Abishek as soon as my PC (if it doesn’t crash) comes up with the results.

It is another matter that Karunya is likely to become a highly popular singer much before my research is completed and might not feel the necessity to lean on Abishek. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Abishek requests for Karunya’s autograph. All Karunya has to do is forget about his ‘Abishek’ looks and concentrate on what he does best – singing. He’s got precocious talent. He is also very versatile like Manna Dey or Mohammed Rafi and can sing both soft numbers as well as high pitched notes. The fact that none of the 'hard to satisfy' judges could spot a flaw or a lacuna in his singing goes to prove that a new star is beginning to scintillate on the music firmament.

Update as on 22/04/2006: Congratulations Sandeep Acharya! The result is out and the ever smiling Sandeep Acharya has pipped Karunya to the post. Once again the result has revealed a frightening trend - Indian audience is swayed more by looks than talent. Another contributory factor could be the reluctance of people in the South to watch Hindi channels or take active part in SMS voting. Even in a city like Hyderabad, the majority of Telugu speaking people do not watch Hindi Channels so we cannot expect them to vote for Karunya. But, it must be noted that Karunya is a very special talent and despite the loss will create ripples in the music world. Nevertheless, today is Sandeep Acharya's day and let us not begrudge his achievement. Sandeep Acharya is definitely worthy of wearing the Indian Idol II crown.

mbfarookh.