Sa Re Ga Ma Pa - Raja and Harpreet Get a Another Chance
Deepa
2007-07-09 19:15:35
After a long, grueling elimination process (and I mean grueling), Sa Re Ga Ma Pa finally entered it’s final competition stage. The top 14 contestants will now fight it out for the top spot.
Sadly enough, I missed the first part of the show so I can’t comment on it much. But I will say that contestants from each gharana came on stage and did a group performance. Then the individual performances began with Josh gharana. I missed Mauli Dave, Sumedha Karmak, and Abhijit Kosambi, which is fine, except I’m really curious about Abhijit and regret missing his performance the most. For those who don’t know, Abhijit won the regional Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Marathi contest and as part of his winnings, he was promised a spot in the national (or rather, international) contest.
Also, according the grapevine, Sumedha has gotten the opportunity to sing for Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt. Okay, no offense to Sumedha (who is a decent singer), but how much of this offer has to do with her looks rather than her singing. I’m convinced that he wants her in front of the camera and not behind a microphone. I mean, look at the other actresses he’s launched. Udita Goswami? Yeah, ‘nuff said.
So it would not be another Friday on SRGMP if there was no drama. This time, it was created by mentor Ismail Darbar, who took issue with Abhijit and SRGMP Bengali winner Aneek Dhar being allowed direct entry to the finals.
Ismailji’s point was that it was unfair to the rest of the contestants that these two be given direct entry while everyone else had to be chosen by the mahagurus in the previous rounds. It was a valid point, but at the same time, I will say what I said when they let Jolly Das back in on Indian Idol. Aneek and Abhijit were there due to public voting. They rightfully won their titles and this was a part of what they won. Whatever dude, they’re talented. Just let them in. After much convincing from the other judges, especially Himesh Reshammiya, Ismailji finally relented.
Now, moving on to the performances!
First up was Yalgaar Gharana:
Rimi Dhar - O Solemiya from Popcorn Khao Mast Ho Jaao
I’ll have to admit that I wasn’t too keen on Rimi before. I recognize that she sings really well and is a strong contender, but I just couldn’t relate to her on-screen. There was a connection missing.
So I went into this performance a little passively, wanting her to change my mind about her. And oh, she sure did! She created the right mood, hit the complicated notes expertly, and carried the song off with panache.
She did go out of sur in a couple of places, but that is easily overlooked because she did a great job overall.
Deepa’s Rating: 8/10
Amanat Ali - Tu Fiza Hai from Fiza
Um, this is a sexy song. I’m sure most of you are reading this thinking, what a weirdo. But really, listen to it. It’s a sexy song. It has passion. It has love. And it has its soft moments. One has to be really skilled to carry it off in the way that Sonu Nigam did the original. And what a perfect choice Amanat was! I know he’s talented enough to do this song and for the most part he succeeded.
My only point of concern was that he needed to work on his breath control a little bit more. But losing your breath is so easy with this song because of the way he has to hold those high notes and then lead straight into a verse without room to breathe.
Amanat also had trouble with his low notes this time, for some reason. He’s usually solid no matter how high or low he goes. But this time his voice seemed slightly strained.
I say over and over again that Amanat has a lot of depth. This, to me, is one of the things that he has going for him. He manages to bring out the depth in his songs (or has learned to lately), and keeps the viewer wanting more. High five Amanat!
Deepa’s Rating: 8.5/10
Poonam Jadav - Mere Maula from Khakee
Poonam is my favorite female contestant and deep down, I really want her to do well. I’ve nicknamed her Lil’ Bit. When she finished this song, Vishal said that if there is one person who is ready to do playback singing right now, it is Poonam. He told her that they would love to have her sing for them. Yay for Vishal Shekhar!!
Now, about the song, Poonam was almost flawless. I have a sneaking suspicion that she picked this song because it holds some meaning to her because she was so focused and got so into it! Overall, a powerful performance from Poonam, a.k.a. Lil’ Bit.
Deepa’s Rating: 9/10
Then we moved on to Rock Gharana
Joy Chakrobarthy - Humma Humma from Bombay
Um, I did not like this performance. Period. I’m sure Joy is talented, but what a waste of opportunity! It is such an elementary school song in many ways and Joy could have showcased his talent much better with another choice. In fact, I skipped it the first time and had to make myself watch it again because I had to review it. But I’ll be nice to him.
Deepa’s Rating: 6/10
Nirupama Dey - Laga Laga from Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya
I think Nirupama is one of the weakest contenders and I was not looking forward to her performance. After seeing it, I stand by my statement.
She’s shrill on the high notes, and unbearably thin during all other times. And let’s not even get started on her lack of breath control. I’m sure she’s a lovely girl, but my money’s on her elimination next week. And she can’t connect to the audience.
Deepa’s Rating: 5/10
Mussarat Abbas - Tere Bin from Bas Ek Pal
Yay for Mussarat and this song! Both winners in my opinion, until I saw his performance. He started off well but soon made a glaring mistake. He’s never gone out of tempo, so what the heck happened here?! Wow buddy, that was a little rough. And like Amanat, his low notes sounded unsure. And toward the end, there was one point where he sounded horrible!
So my message to Mussarat: Buck up!
Deepa’s Rating: 6/10
Aneek Dhar - Dil Se Re from Dil Se
This was one of the best performances of the night. Aneek really does have what it takes to win this competition. One thing that stood out is that Aneek has a certain clarity of words that even A.R. Rahman didn’t have when he sang the original. It’s quite refreshing to hear that.
And I was amazed at how easily he went from the powerful high notes to the much softer lower ones. And he received a standing O from the audience.
Deepa’s Rating: 9.5/10
The next gharana to perform is Hit Squad
Junaid Sheikh - Halke Halke from Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd.
Junaid is absolutely yummy! Seriously. I question my ability to judge this guy without being biased, but I’m going to give it a go anyways.
Overall, it was a good performance. I would have loved to see him play his guitar on stage with this song, but alas! Right, back on focus. It thought it was a tad bit superficial. He’s done soulful, he’s done romantic, and he’s done peppy. This was none of them so it seemed a bland. And a little short. And slightly forgettable.
Lekin, sur taal, sab theek tha. Now, will someone get me that oxygen please!
Deepa’s Rating: 7/10
Apurva - Dus Bahane from Dus
Okay, ew. What was Apurva thinking? He so cannot pull that song off. He may have sung it in tune, but he made me cringe when he was trying to be cool while singing it. That’s all. Moving on.
Deepa’s Rating: 6/10
And finally, we get to the results of the brahmastra round. Host Aditya Narayan called on stage the six brahmastra contestants: Desh Gaurav Singh, Saberi Bhattacharya, Raja Hassan, Sarika Singh, Sunil Kumar, and Harpreet Deol.
Vishal and Shekhar announce the percentages that each person received. The winners are in bold:
So Raja and Harpreet were in, and each gave a performance.
Harpreet Deol - Sach Keh Raha from Rehnaa Hai Tere Dil Mein
Overall, it was a good performance. I agree with the people of India and think that Harpreet deserved to be in. He has such a soothing voice quality and he’s extremely talented. And he did this song well! It suited him very well.
Raja Hassan - Tu Hi Re from Bombay
Okay, they definitely saved the best for last. What a beautiful song. It took me back to Indian Idol 2 piano round, when Amey Date sang it. But Raja’s version definitely stands out. I was really sad when he got voted out. Now that he’s back in, I think that he’s going to keep the other contestants on their toes.
So I very rarely get to write about SRGMP and want to use this chance to give my rants. According to me, the best 5 contestants are Raja, Aneek, Amanat, Junaid, and Poonam, with Mussarat as a close sixth.
I’m glad they toned down the drama a little bit and Himesh is not screaming at the top of his lungs about roti. I’m happy to see that Mussarat is no longer being limited to one genre. And I’m really excited that host Aditya is learning how to be more natural on the screen. The first several rounds were tedious because the singers weren’t as good. And now that I reflect on the top 14, I think that more or less, they were the appropriate choice.
And as far as predictions for next week, I think either Rimi, Nirupama, or Joy will be voted out. Joy and Nirupama because I didn’t enjoy their performance, and Rimi because she still can’t connect with the audience.
Nice review. Thx for this. I didnt pay much attention to this episode, it just didnt do it for me.
About the 1st 3 contestants:
Mauli - she is amazing stage presence and her performance is always good, but I dont like her singing that much. There's always something lacking there.
Sumedha - i don't think she should be in the finals. Sure, she is a pretty face, but her singing is lacking.
Abijit - technically good, but I think against raja and aneek he doesnt stand much of a chance. he needs to put more power into his performance.
I felt that mussarat was trying way too hard on the song, i felt as though he was screaming in some places. Lost alot of points from me after that performance.
I think the male contestants are much stronger than the female. My favourites: Aneek, Raja, Harpreet and Poonam...
Bella i think u got it wrong in mauli....I mean i havent seen much of her performing or her stage performance....Infact i really dont like her at this stage at all...and she remains a one hit wonder.......Aneek was great ....so was raja and my fave in this show till now has been pooja....Amaanat has a great voice but his expression reminds me of a dead fish.........
Ajay said: Bella i think u got it wrong in mauli....I mean i havent seen much of her performing or her stage performance....Infact i really dont like her at this stage at all...and she remains a one hit wonder.......Aneek was great ....so was raja and my fave in this show till now has been pooja....Amaanat has a great voice but his expression reminds me of a dead fish.........
Pooja? or do u mean Poonam?
Hmmm, I still feel Mauli has good stage presence compared to Amaanat.
Junaid is an absolute cutie, i would vote for him based on looks instead of singing
Er srry...Poonam....i dont like puja much at the other end.....Cmmon bella even u wud have a better stage prescence than Amanaat :-) Its his sound which i am impressed abt.......Voting for junaid based on looks? Bella thats the problem with these shows rt?
exactly!
I'm not a singer... but I love music. I dont know much abt sur, but if I like something, then i like it :)
so if there is a guy thats a hottie (junaid) or someone like Mauli who looks good, you can expect the voters to vote for them. If not the hotness factor then regional voting.
To me the trend with public voting is that the real singers never win. Take indian idol, that is a perfect example of stupid voting.
And Debojit winning over someone like Nihira? Same thing is gonna happen here... Junaid over Amaanat
Oh u dont want to know bella......But on that argument i still cant find whats the point in that? i mean look at all the winners of these reality shows and how they have fared....Oh there has been a few exceptions to the cases like a sunidhi chauhan...the others...poof....and they are gone.......Then there are the karunyas and others who havnt won but make names and all...So whats the point in such shows?
It is going to be a Aneek and Amanat Final with Aneek taking the title. Thats my prediction.
Raja Hasan is my favorite but he lacks the versatility of Aneek. But you never know, if Rajasthan can make or break Indian Idol then it may be able to do the same to SRGMP. In this case I wouldnt mind :)
Ajay, Realty shows may not be able to make the winners careers, but the do bring out good talent and give them recognition. Karunya may not have won, but look where he is now. On his own, he would have probably given up and continued with his studies. Hemachandra, Himani have made good name for themselves. Naresh Iyer lost in the show (on channel V?), but he was noticed by AR Rehman and his career is made. The list just keeps getting bigger.
And luck plays a big role too. Amey was a finalist in SRGM and lost to Shreya. See the difference in their career charts.
Public voting is not great, it has many flaws, but thats a sure fire way of making the audience involved. I dont think ID, HR will come up with the best singer, they will be their usual self and try to get their favorite crowned. At least this way, public has a voice. (How ever biased it may be)
I agree with almost all of Deepa's (first post) thoughts. Except that I rank Rimi at the bottom. I think she tried way too hard to sound husky, and ended up sounding too unnatural.
Mauli - Good singer, but still not on par with some others. If this was a solo performance, I dont mind listening to her. But this is a competition, with some real high standard performances. I like Mauli, but based on recent performances she is sliding down my list ... fast. Mauli, you dont pick a song like "Dhak dhak karne laga" for a competition of this standard. Dhak dhak is famous for Madhuri and u-no-what... the song does not showcase anything else. Anyone can sing it. You must pick a song that shows your voice strength and your ability to control it.
I think Musarrat did exactly that with "Tere bin", and to some extent struggled to maintain the high notes. He looked painful in doing so. But I would give him marks for pulling it off nevertheless.
Apoorva - "Dus bahane" ??? C'mon.. do you sing "dus bahane" in a competition ? I love that song.. but it is a song for bathroom singers meaning it is very easy to sing. You cannot go out of tune iwith this song f you wanted to. Again, there is nothing to showcase in this song. Sure VS loved it.
Junaid, Raja, Aneek, Harpreet, Poonam - good performers. Excellent song selections all the time. I strongly believe these are the top five. With Musaarat and Amanat close.
Amanat - excellent singer, but like someone pointed out earlier, he lacks the passion that Musarrat and Junaid show.
Rimi - very very thanda. I used to like her but others are way ahead of her in all counts.
Sumedha - very overrated. She is better than a few others, but not good enough for Bhatt camp to sigh her. Maybe a publicity stut by Zee ??!!??
Public voting is unpredictable.. they may vote for "Dhak dhak" over Poonam's excellent "maula" performance. In the end, real talent always wins. Karunya (II2) has more name and fame than the winner of II2.
Deepa's analysis is very balanced.
I find Mauli has a great stage presence, but that's about it.
Both Aneek & Amanat would be my first choice. Followed by Junaid, Raja & Poonam.
Its going to be a highly emotional battle from now on.
K Bella...I am from gods own country...Decipher that....:-)
But thats it rt.....India is not that renowned for its po charts is it? Its in films these guys get most of the chance......And i know many a people who doesnt know the name of the singers....Just the song.....So these shows bring people to the front.....some limelight, a 15 mins fame....Now what i dont get is then why do we people fight? I cant grasp the thinking behind that..Anyway this is digressing from the topic My top three
1) Raja
2)Aneek
3)Poonam
Ajay said: K Bella...I am from gods own country...Decipher that....:-)
Where is that? The only place I am aware that they call God's own country is Kerala.
About pop singers, I think some of them are really good and those really good ones have got into the film industry, like Shaan and alisha
Where is that? The only place I am aware that they call God's own country is Kerala.
About pop singers, I think some of them are really good and those really good ones have got into the film industry, like Shaan and alisha
Ya and u guessed correctly too.....Well the point is as a career u cant compare the number of songs alisha has sung to say a sonu nigam or an udit narayan rt? And where are all the other pop singers...there were loads...Suneeta rao who had a good voice, shweta shetty and god knows how many more....
i hear your point Ajay. I still think there is a monopoly in the film industry when it comes to singers and music. These ppl tend to work with their favourites and it is very difficult to get into that area.
I think many people feel that being in the film industry means that they are successful, but why can't they be successful in the pop industry? To me its an issue with the concept.
The problem is not exactly concept......India is not known for its pop arena......Too many lack lustre singers trying to earn a break through that way.......So when all is said and done these shows do not pave a great way for the future of these guys and gals...So quit fighting and watch it like a soap opra with the annus and himmesh doing the bickering......Hw sad
There is a LOT of junk music in the Indian pop arena. But occasionally a gem pops out. Like Rabbi for example. Or Josh. I was switching channels one day and happened to listen to a nice song by JOSH called mausam. Very nicely done. It is a remake of an old Pak film song, but it is still well done. I stay away from most remixes !! I hate to see the bare bodies doing weird dance steps to an old classic like "Ik pardesi mera dil la gaya". Can we take these people to court ???
other guest, you are right, there really is a lot of junk in the Indian pop music sector. Have you listened to the song "dola ve himmat de" by Josh? It's really nice. But the song mausam you mentioned its a remake of a Pak song... a lot of private albums are just remakes of other songs or remixes of them. unfortunately there isn't too much quality work in that area. the only really superb private albums i can think of are kailash kher's albums Kailasa, Awaarigi, and Jhoomo Re and Adnan Sami and Atif Aslam's albums.
By the way guest, u made a great point about the music videos to these songs, but then again, we have the same problem with the way many filmi songs in Bollywood are picturized. I guess as long as people watch such stuff, people will make music videos like that.
Ajay-- i agree with you completely, these talent searches really are not a gurantee that singers will make it big time in the industry. yeah people like vinit, abhijeet, debojit, hemachandra, and karunaya do get recognition. but these people still have not received one big HIT song which is what anyone who calls him or herself a singer really wants. i mean, look at ujjani and aishwarya who won ek main aur ek tu contest of srgmp... they still don't have any songs right now. what's the point of bringing home a sareganaoa or indian idol trophy as a showpiece when you still don't have "roti" or any chartbuster songs recorded? but maybe as all these mentors this time are boasting, these singers will get breaks.
Can you guys believe both bappi and ismail have signed mauli with song recording offers? i mean honestly, that girl can't perform live. how is she going to do a good job inside the recording studio where every single mistake is really noticeable. i've had experience inside a recording studio, and because it's sound proof in there, everything can be heard, including your flaws. I don't think she is even a one hit wonder- the first song she sang "mayya mayya" she sang the lyrics totally wrong! i think that srgmp is trying to maintain the overseas thing so they are purposefully keeping in a few overseas contestants to maintain TRPs abroad. i don't understand how signers like nirupama and joy are still in the contest. they are pathetic and i really doubt they will ever be successfull playback singers.
- everyone says that sunidhi was a great find from these talent searches but she already had so many contacts in the music industry and Bollywood industry that she could probablly make it into the industry anyway.
- my favortie contestants are the "real" singers: Poonam and Raja. they are versatile singers who really do justice to the srgmp stage. it is because of rare contestants like these that i still have a tiny bit of faith in talent searches.
Based on strictly singing ability, I think the toppers are Raja, Aneek, and Poonam. They have the sur and all the technical aspects along with a connection with the audience.
Amanat and Mussarat are good to an extent - but I think their ranges are limited, respectively.
If we look at appearance and stage presence, then fine - Sumedha and Mauli. But I don't think they both deserve to be in the finals with the singing they have shown us this far.
I think the first ones to go will include Joy, Nirupama, Rimi and Apoorva because I feel they lack the ability to connect with the audience.
I also think that Harpreet and Abhijeet are only average in the both areas of singing and overall performance - so they really need to step it up if they want to stick around.
Last thing - I think in Challenge 2005 Debojit was the dark horse who no one would've predicted to take the title. This time I think it could be Junaid as I'm a huge fan of his voice quality. He needs to focus a bit more on the sur and feel of the song. But if he succeeds - I think he could win!!
I agree with you Sareena that Junaid has the ability to win this and has shown more improvement than anyone else out there. I am not going for his looks like most people , nor am I a Pakistani (I am south indian Brahmin :-)) but I do have a good knowledge of music and melody. And I honestly think he does have the right stuff to go home the winner.
After I read the comparisons between Harpreet's KavaN prformance and Karunya's, I went and dug up the latter on youtbe as I hadn't seen it. While I really like Karunya, I think Harpreet did great justice to the song;
first of all pronunciation (the person who praised Karunya saying it was better than a punjabi was obviously not a Punjabi herself, otherwise you can tell).
Second, Harpreet didn't have any props and choruses backing and did the entire thing himself: difficult to do without losing the pitch of either.
He also sang the entire song (thing I dislike about II3 is the way they have to chop songs to fit into their time format).
All in all, Harpreet's performance was outstanding, consistent and you can tell this guy really works at his singing. I don't know if he deserves to be the overall winner but he definitely did not deserve to be out so early.
Another thing is that we have seen him sing a variety of songs. Some other people, Mauli comes to mind, are always in the same type of song. I think she needs to improve her singing but again my guess is that SRGMP want to keep the "world" format of the show as long as possible, but it is already unsustainable as some better singers have been left behind.
I follow Saregamapa pretty closely, and I tell you Im still very irritated that Mauli is on the show. I am from Houston, TX, and while I agree she seems to be really sweet and sincere, it doesnt seem fair that she is still given chances above and beyond what others are given. Raja, Harpreet, Junaid (he is hot- i agree), Amanat, and Musaraat are all extremely good. I think Sumeida has a very nice voice and out of all of the girls, it should be between her and Poonam. Just my take on things.
