Indian Idol Season 2 Episode 1

WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That was SO amazing...I just watched the first episode of the new season of Indian Idol like minutes ago...and I am so totally awed...oh man! Sonu is SOOO majorly cute and nice!!! I think everyone around 5 metres of me heard me squealing in delight practically everytime he did something cute, and dont be surprised if I drove my parents nuts... phew...wooh i think i've gone mad...ok well SN drives me mad...that part about a woman coming in burkha "sonu ke vaaste" was SO CUTE!!!! And man! he practically kept a straight face and it was fantastic! I was jumping up and down and groaning-moaning everytime he gave someone a hug...BOO HOO HOO. I wish i could sing at least a bit...I'd happily fly all the way to Mumbai and leap into his arms. LOL. Anyway another thing was that he looks really cute when he laughs...even i burst out laughing when that guy in red did an imitation of Anu Malik singing. That was TOO good. Even if the poor guy didnt get selected, hats off to him for having the courage to show Anu Malik what he really sings like...honestly speaking i cant stand his singing...he should just stick to directing! Anyway back to SN...when he started laughing at the fantastic mimickry I was like "oh my god"...he looked so cute!!! his nose wrinkles up when he's laughing and he looks great!

Oh man...theres something really depressing though...i'm leaving for my holidays in the US tomorrow with my family and we're gonna be gone for like three weeks...i'm gonna miss all those episodes! how sad is that??? I;m gonna miss all the hilarious audition bits and by the time i come back and start watching again, they'll probably have started the next round ( would they? I have no idea how long this audition-round thing lasts...)

oh well...I cant do anything but enjoy my holiday and come back and stick to the TV like glue... ( by the way i'm going to NY and Florida...gonna have loads of funn!!!!!!!!)
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and because of this same reason of my leaving...i'm probably not gonna be able to post any news or anything on this site for the next three weeks...so till then...tata!

Same time, same place

The good, the bad and the desperate hit your TV screens as Indian Idol returns, says our correspondent
Sulakshana Gupta


JUDGES aren’t supposed to be partial, but Farah Khan was so impressed by one contestant that she decided to hire him. So, even though Prajapati from Mira Road won’t win a platinum recording contract, he is now Khan’s personal chef.

Indian Idol is back and so are popular jury members Anu Malik, Sonu Nigam and Farah Khan with their scathing remarks and critical feedback directed at the scores of aspirants who want to live the Abhijeet Sawant dream.


‘‘This time the level of desperation is at an all-time high,’’ says Nigam, who entertains frequent calls from complete strangers requesting personal auditions. It’s come to a point where he’s even willing to change his cellphone number.

With a whopping 30,000 contestants tried, and people who refused to leave the judges’ room even after being eliminated, the trio were forced to come up with ingenious ways to get the message across.

So they’ve turned to accessories for help, for the times when words aren’t enough — toy guns to shoot with, oversized headphones worn when the singing is just too painful, placards that say aap ghar jaao and assorted fruit to hand over while being shown the door.

‘‘With so many people each day, we didn’t want to seem repetitive, so there’s this element of fun,’’ says Khan.

No one’s assaulted Malik yet, but a lot of tears have been shed. In the very first episode, we run into Jigar Kapadia, a young stud in tight jeans and a bandana, accompanied by his cheerleader mom. Unable to stomach his rejection, she storms back in and demands a second chance.

Nathu, a daily wage earner from Jalgoan, sold his vessels to come to Mumbai without informing his family. In the second round, we see him in bad shape because his sick wife has not eaten for two days.

Having watched one season already, the contestants are more savvy and know exactly how each jury member responds. ‘‘Last year people got aggressive, this time they’re trying the emotional blackmail route,’’ says Nigam referring to a Delhi girl who threatened to commit suicide unless they allowed her into the theatre round. In his mild and diplomatic manner, Nigam has sent her and the rest of them packing.

But for the most original one-liners, the audience always turns to Anu Malik. To one contestant he remarked, ‘‘Let there be fire power or you go home and take a shower.’’

With his locks having grown a few inches, Malik’s the only one who looks different from last season. And he loves it that the oestrogen quotient’s shot up.

‘‘There are loads of girls this time, I’m quite sure that the Indian Idol will be a woman,’’ he says.

It wouldn’t be the same if the odd-balls didn’t show up. In the first few episodes we also catch of glimpse of 16-year-old Mohit Tyagi from Delhi popularly known as Kashish by his peers because of his love for curled lashes and long bindis.

Alok Tyagi, a 19-year-old bespectacled lad from Faridabad has a penchant for wigs especially a long red mane which he wears to the audition.

Until the last round, the format remains the same. In the top 12, however, the judges have decided to pick an equal number of girls and boys to even out the chances.





** SN is "mild and diplomatic"...heh heh...good to hear that...=) and its very interesting to hear that he gets calls from complete strangers...where do they get his number??? someone tell me please...i wanna call him...not for "personal auditions" mind you...you'll have no competition there...i cant sing. period.

‘I’m richer than the biggest actors in Bollywood’

Karishma Upadhyay
Sunday, November 20, 2005 16:38 IST


Indipop singer and TV personality Sonu Nigam is quizzed about all things musical by aspiring singer and DNA reader Ruchika Tiku.

You have been a part of both ‘Sa Re Ga Ma’ and ‘Indian Idol’. How do you think you would have fared if you were to take part in any of today’s reality show talent hunts?

If you mean when I had just come into the industry, I would, in all modesty say that I would have won them both. I am very confident about my talent. Though I have to say that these talent hunts are not just about talent, you have to get one million Indians to love you and vote for you. That’s also a talent in its own way as you never really know what connects with them. On hindsight, I might not have won the ‘Indian Idol’ at that point as I was very raw, not stylish, and didn’t have that much confidence. The judges would have liked me but I am not so sure about the public.

You have maintained that the quality of singers discovered through these shows is very good. At the same time, you say that these shows aren’t just about talent?

These shows make stars out of ordinary people. What sets the winners apart is the fact that they have the complete package. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they are mind-blowing singers. They are just ‘Idol material’. If you look at the history of the music and the film industry in India, there have been and are a lot of so-called ‘stars’ who weren’t or aren’t great singers. So what’s the big deal?

Your personal life always seems to be making as much news as your professional life. Does that upset you?

Except for this one time last year when a city supplement quoted me saying that my marriage is over, it’s never affected me. The only reason I got upset was because I hadn’t said anything like that. I really don’t care what’s written about my personal life as far as journalists don’t try to put words into my mouth. People can speculate as much as they want to, only I know what is true.

The other non-musical aspect that takes up as much column space is your hair!

Really? I had no idea! Seriously, I love experimenting and if people want to keep track, then good for them. I have noticed that every time I wear something outrageous or stupid or do something to my hair, I am immediately written about. And any publicity is always good publicity.

The one question that every Sonu Nigam fan has always wanted to ask – why did you act in movies?

Everyone always told me that I could be a good actor, so I did some movies. The problem was that I did the wrong movies. I had no idea what to do, who to work with - that’s where I failed.

Will you do any more films?

I really doubt it. Between my stage shows, recordings and television commitments, I have no time. If I do take up something, it will have to be well worth my time because I’d have to stop everything else for 4 to 5 months. I don’t have to do movies for the money because I’m as if not richer than the biggest actors in Bollywood.