From Delhi 6 to Indian Idol

With Republic Day almost on us, the contestants were infused with the patriotic spirit. The Top 7 began the Indian Idol gala episode with a rousing Mile sur mera tumhara that brought everyone, the judges included, to their feet.

Then a soberly dressed Chang and a garishly attired Hussain took the stage and confirmed that today was indeed an episode flavoured with desh ki mitti. And to help add a dash of tadka to everything, the members of Delhi 6 were on the show—director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra joined the judges panel, while Sonam Kapoor sat with the contestants to encourage them.

Indian Idol’s deep, Rajdeep

The boy with the sweet smile took the stage first to belt out the classic Mera rang de Basanti chola from Shaheed. But his smile was soon wiped off his face. A bad throat had his voice cracking and saw Rajdeep nearly give up in the middle of the song out of sheer frustration. But he persisted and managed to complete his performance.

While Annu Malek applauded his courage and gave him a green because he did not give up, Javed Akhtar was not in such a forgiving mood. “Your throat was bad, so your singing was not good,” he said, and gave Rajdeep a red which was also seconded by Kailash. Don’t worry too much Rajdeep, there will be another chance to prove yourself.

Bhavya brings tears

The versatile Bhavya decided to take up yet another challenging song and sang Lata Mangeshkar’s Aye mere watan ke logon. Her performance was so powerful that it brought tears to Rakeysh’s eyes. “Thank you very much for singing this song for us,” he said, while Sonam said, “As an actor, I can vouch for the feelings you put into the song.” But Javedji was not too impressed. “You lost your leh and your sur often,” he said.

That did not go down too well with Bhavya’s hardcore fan, Annuji, who immediately jumped to her defence. “You never went besura. Sur, taal, leh sab kuch tha. You will be in the Top 5,” he shouted. Kailash, too, spoke against Javedji and said: Yeh geet ek bhavnaon ka sagar hai aur tum ne is sagar ka ehsaas kiya.” And Javedji, who had already made his point, kept a dignified silence. We applaud that. Indian Idol is no place for fights.

Kapil stands up for his country

The Army man chose an appropriate song, Ab tumhare hawale watan sathiyon. He was lost in his performance and that showed in his singing. “Your singing touched me,” said Annuji. “Tum mera dimaag karab karke rakha hain.” And Rakeysh wished that Kapil’s song could have “gone on for another five to 10 minutes”. But for the third time, Javedji had a problem—he said Kapil had sung very nasally and he had mispronounced the word sathiyon.

When Annu said that thought that may be true, but Kapil had been in sur, the lyricist said: “All the seven sing in sur now. But we have to point out their flaws. And if we don’t criticise them on these things, what do we criticise them on?” Very good point indeed! Javedji even deflected a sarcastic comment by Kailash on his “bad mood” very cleverly. “Mera mood karab nahin hain, mera kaan teek hain,” he said. Bravo!

The boys woo Sonam

Now, just in case Sonam was feeling neglected, the boys decided to give her some undivided attention. And they all paid her compliments in the style of the person she loved the most—her father, the inimitable Anil Kapoor. Though Prasenjit, Kapil and Rajdeep tried their best, Remo stole the show with his bilkul jhakas tapori act.

However, when Sonam was asked to adjudge the winner, she said, “Girls are attracted to the guys who have the least bhaav. So I’d like to dance with Hassan.” Huh? Hassan who? It took everyone a little while to realise that she actually meant Hussain. But a sporting Hussain aka Hassan bhai immediately escorted Sonam onto the stage where they grooved to the beats of the latest rage on TV, Masakalli.

The music launch of Delhi 6

Rakeysh and Sonam were joined on the stage by lyricist Prasoon Joshi and singer Mohit Chauhan for the music launch of Delhi 6. The director explained that the audience would realise why they chose Indian Idol for the launch once they watch the film. Sonam added that Indian Idol was the platform that made “a nobody into a somebody”.

Prasoon and Sonam unveiled the album cover, an elegant work of mirror and curlicues. Sonam seemed to be totally thrilled and couldn’t seem to rein in her unbridled joy. Mohit Chauhan made the music launch even more special by singing Masakalli in stage, with Sonam dancing to his tunes.

Prasenjit breaks the criticism trend

A confident Prasenjit, dressed in a kurta pyjama, took the stage with Suno gor se duniya walon. And for the first time on the show all the judges were unanimous in their decision—green. “The way you grooved, worked the audience—hats off to you,” said Sonali Bendre. Kailash said, “This song could have sounded jaise ki rata marke gaa raha ho, but you sang beautifully.” But Sonam had the last word: “Bilkul jhakaas.”

Prasenjit also went down memory lane to his homecoming in Kolhapur. From the time he had alighted from the train, people had gone crazy over him. Crowds had swarmed the station, the roads, his house, everywhere. He not only met his family and received their blessings, but he also visited his school and performed with his schoolmates. It was an experience that he would never forget in his life.

Torsha is back with a bang

The petite Bengali had not been at the top of her form for the last few galas—her voice had not been her faithful companion. But today, when she took the stage with Vande mataram, we could see the old Torsha shining through. “Amazing and mind-blowing,” said Rakeysh. “You’ve attempted to climb Mt Everest.” Annuji added: “I see the hunger in you. I see the old Torsha.” However, despite giving her a green, Kailash took up Javedji’s cudgels. “Aapne ‘matharam’ ko ‘mathadam’ bola,” he said. Mind your ‘r’s, Torsha.

Remo remembers Bapuji

After a slew of serious songs, the chota don decided to sing a patriotic song with a difference. He looked to Lage Raho Munnabhai for inspiration and took the stage with Bande mein tha dum. “Sabse best start tumhara tha,” said Annuji. “You’ve won my heart.” Javedji seconded that. “I’ve not heard the song, but you still managed to hold my attention.”

In another tribute to Delhi 6, Kailash took the stage with singer Javed Ali to sing Maula. And boy, was that a powerful performance.

Saving the best for last

Sourabhee experimented with her range and octaves with the song Yeh mera India. And what could have gone horribly wrong actually went brilliantly right with her. Javedji said that though he and Annu had differed on their opinions about other singers, they were united when it came to the girl from Tripura. Annu had said, “I think there is a good chance that we are looking at our first female Indian Idol.”

We hope so, too. It is high time India recognised its daughters and we had a female Idol. Let’s all keep our fingers crossed for that.