The Show Goes On!!. Review on Indian Idol

INDIAN IDOL

I just happened to lock on to the last two episodes of Indian Idol while surfing channels. Hey, what’s this Indian Idol? Bit by bit it did sink in what this show was all about.

The 11 finalists looked interesting, many had tremendous range and depth in their voices.

One guy, Vaidya, appeared to have it all. Good looks, reasonably good stage presence and probably deserved to be in the last two. But the judges thought different. I have no quarrel with that because I am no judge of voices, talent and what ever else they were looking for.

So they whittled this list down to two. Amit Sanna and Abhijeet Sawant. They kept the girls out.

THE INDIAN IDOL- RE LOOK FOR YEAR 2006

Considering the vast pool of talent that was out there, thousands of participants, to get either of these two to be the Indian Idol was a bt of a let down on all of us watching this show. Hey folks we are talking about Show Biz at the Highest Level!.

Just holding a mike in hand and belting out songs, dressed up by Manish Malhotra, with adequate lights, sounds and stage management is not good enough for this sort of show. Are we talking about an Indian Idol or some stage show listening to some worn out songs?

What should we be looking for in an Indian Idol.

 A great voice for sure. That apart, add the following.

 Electrifying Stage presence.

 Ability to act and do many other things on stage than just singing.

 Great personality to look at..

 Witty, intelligent, and very very street smart.

You could add on to this list.

Regretfully, both Amit Sana and Abhijeet Sawant were mediocre fare. Other than a good voice and singing talent, they were found wanting in all other departments. These days, even the stuff you see at Mood Indigo at IIT Powai is way too ahead than this Indian Idol.

Hey don’t tell me India is bereft of talent. We just have Narayan Karthikeyan in the cockpit of a Formula One car. We have Sania Mirza right up there pole vaulting to position no 77 in the World of Women’s tennis in just four weeks!. We have Vishwanathan Anand at World No 2 in chess. We had Nandu Natekar at World No 1. The list goes on.

And we have Abijeet Sawant as the Indian Idol in the Indian World of Entertainment? Give me a break you fellas at Sony.

The show for the next year needs a complete makeover

When I saw a stage show of Michael Jackson in Japan some decades ago, I was stunned, thrilled, speechless, riveted to his Moon Walk. Okay, so he was way too far and a naturally talented man. Whenever I see Tina Turner on stage, my hair stand on end. The likes of Britney drives me wild!

INDIAN IDOL MUST BE A POTENTIAL WORLD BEATER

In the World of Entertainment, for us to be truly proud of an Indian Idol, we need to look at a person who is truly a superlative stage performer, with a potential to be a World Beater. We have such Indians in many areas who have excelled at the top level.

We need to have our own Tina Turners, Celine Dions, Britney Speers and their likes to create an Indian Idol.

What we have got courtesy Sony is Abhijeet Sawant!

Guys at Sony who know the Entertainment business can do better next year.

Abhijeet’s voice range is just above average. He will at best do well as a playback singer or entertain crowds at some public functions. His personality overall is zilch. Same with Amit Sana, maybe he had plenty of depth in his voice.

If you are looking for better products this year, then the 5 finalists at Channel V Super Singers are way ahead of Amit and Abhijeet.

IS THERE AN INDIAN IDOL OUT THERE?

There must be. Maybe they are there in the re-mixes, I do not know. After watching the Screen and Filmfare Awards nites, it is clear we have the technology for stage management, lighting, sound system and so on.

We need to have one incredible Indian Entertainer. Just one.

The next year round, Sony Entertainment must look real hard and spell out the criteria for the Indian Idol. A great singing voice alone will not do.