Gates for Mumbai Auditions open and people from as far as Bangalore and Manipur thronged the gates. The judges walked in with the Dhandha Hai Per Gandha Hai Yeh number in the backdrop. So APT. Not easy being in the judges seat for reality shows. Javed saab is back again this week.
First hopeful, Joginder Dhabade, 21 is a cleaner of vehicles and wnats people to say “Yeh joginder jaa gaana hai” and also wishes to bring out an album. He sang Yeh mera India I my love India. Pathetic. Anu rightly said “aisa sapne rakho so saakaar ho sakte hai”. The poor chap was trembling while Alisha said Himmat mat haaro and Javed consoled saying Naakaamiya Hoti Hai … Mehnat Karo. Touching to see dreams being broken.

Next in line. Maibam. from naipur, sand Chahoonga main tujhe saanjh savere … Good Attempt. Anu asked him to sing recent songs and he sang Bheege Hont Tere. Very nice. As expected Mumbai kareeb and manipur door for Maibam. He needs to cover up his shaking voice though.

Zubin Garg sang a song to pep up the contestants confidence. Next in line a girl from Jabalpur. Brief intro and she said uska gala kharaab hai because of exhaustion and excitement … Flash … an ad Vicks Ki Goli Lo Khich Khich Door Karo … LOL … she sang Lambi Judaai with good harkatein. Another girl with some promise to be in Final 12.  … Anu was unhappy and said koi jaadoo waali awaaz nahi hai … Javed saab quppied pehli baar ho raha hai kisi ka gala baitha hai woh Yellow card le jaa raha hai …time to packe bags and go to city of dreams.

Bits of comedy … hasso tho khul ke haso … nothing to write about. Next came Nirmalaya Bhattacharya, 25 who sang Jeene ke hai chaar din. Tried his luck with some dancing. Rejected. Kept arguing about another chance. He can sing classical etc. Javed saab said to him khush rahiye, keep entertaining, dont over exert. The guy was not happy at all and had to be literally shown the door. I didnt like one of the judge say dangerous aadmi hai when he was leaving …

Scene shifted to Dubai. Vanita,20 … sang Aisa mera pyar hai. Good looking not bad at all. Yellow card. Rashmi Vijayan sang Maiya Miaya and got a yellow card. Scene back in India. shantanu sudaame,22, Gwalior sang Suni man ki sargam. He was very good. Anu asked him to sing w/o strumming the guitar … he had excellent voice texture. Anu said his singing was excellent. Javed observed that he had not heard itni taareef for any contestant so much from other judges. Kuch tho baat hai.

Nagpur auditions. Nothing worthwhile. 5 people were selected to appear before judges. 4 went kaput and 1 was selected. Hitesh was very fast in his rendering. Lot of scope for improvement. Next, contestants shortlisted from Airtel promotion were given a chance to appear before judges directly. Rani Hazarika used her opportunity well. Sang decently Kasi Paheli Zindagaani. Nothing to rave about. Strictly OK. Get the yellow card. Keta Gohil lost out.

Part 1 http://www.zshare.net/video/ii3-050507-1-wmv.html

Part 2 http://www.zshare.net/video/ii3-050507-2-wmv.html

Part 3 http://www.zshare.net/video/ii3-050507-3-wmv.html

Part 4 http://www.zshare.net/video/ii3-050507-4-wmv.html

Ref: India Forums 

The Baroda auditions started off with Shikha Jain. Shikha said she hasn’t lost any of the competitions that she went to previously and exuded confidence that she will get through. She sang “Bichde abhi tho hum … “. Udit ko bahut acha laga and Alisha agreed. Anu came up with the argument “Koi bhi sur main gaaya tho usse Mumbai le jaaye kya?! The voice need to rock “ … and said I am not very impressed … however she got the pass to Mumbai … Shikha said she was afraid seeing Anu and said “aisa dekh rahe the”.

Next came Alpesh Soni. He took rumaal from Udit and sang “Zamaane ne kaha toote hue” Pathetic. Got few sarcastic wah wah’s from Anu. Strong comments. Udit said “Circus ke liye bahut ache hai aap”. Alpesh ended his nightmare with how a dog would bark if it were Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand, Shah Rukh and Sanjeev Kumar.

Vijay Patel sang “Yeh dil aashiquana”. Shook his leg quite a bit while singing. Anu said “Aapne aisa gaaya ki aapne sur ko hara diya”. LOL. The poor guy didn’t even understand the sarcasm and that he was infact master of the sur. Funny. Extra bits from not so mention worthy singers like Aakash Rathod, Jaimim Parekh, Sunil Parikh. That’s it. Anu and team then decided to go out tell all the participants to pull up the socks since all of the people who sang were below standard.  Then came the Teen Deviyan. Anu asked the contestant to wear the goggles she got with herself. Then Anu wore his and so did Alisha and Udit. With the scene set Devika, Usha and her other sister tried their vocal luck. Alisha sang the same Kajra re intro lines and clearly showed how the Sur and Expression was missing. After all this, the sister’s walked off thinking it was an unfair affair. God Bless em.

Sheena Raju is the one to watch. In trendy black dress, Sheena sang “Sajnaa aabhi jaa”. Anu was extremely happy that voice was resonating and Udit thought uski awaaz main kashish hai. Needless to say, welcome to Mumbai. Bhoomi Trivedi, Dhwani, Manali all came and went. The scene then shifted to Rajasthan where Mini get hold of one Dhannu Ram, makes him sing (and he sings it well … sounded like a Rajasthani folk) and gives him a pass. Poor chap. Maybe he didn’t get the way how these shows work. He landed up at the auditions shown later only to be rejected. What a waste of time and money. We always know II wouldn’t encourage such talent. Why call em!? Looks like Mini was roaming around the streets a lot to find talent in Rajasthan, land of Sandeep Acharya. She finally finds a guy singing for a band in what looked like shaadi ka baraat. Another pass to come to auditions. I have seen the auditions happening at Hyderabad. It made me angry how best of the singers were not even given the chance to appear before the final judges. And on the other hand we have bunch of jokers, in the name of entertainment, are out before the judges only to face their sarcasm and dejection. Sigh.
Best scene from the Jodhpur auditions was Mini in local attire and speaking the slang and taking off on an oonth. Reminded me of my Pilani days. Our friendly neighborhood Dhannu Ram landed at auditions and sang “Tum ne na jaana” from Chalte Chalte. Comments. Weak singing … hasne ka andaaz acha hai … Thank you very much. Poor guy. Looked happy anyways that he cud come until there. Kuldeep Ojha, 22. He sang More Saiya. Aalaap that he took sounded very good. Anu said awaaz kisi se milti nahi hai, Udit said Indian culture barkaraar rakh rahe ho, Alisha said unique awaaz, gamak hai awaaz main aur Rajasthan ki khushbu hai. Chalo Mumbai for Kuldeep. Anu was happy that they finished the auditions without a fight. We did notice that Anu. Was it because Javed wast there.

Scene Kanpur. Usual routine of some people doing/attempting mimicry. People like Rajendar Tripathi did merciless killing of Dhoom title song (how the hell did he get to that stage). Liked the comment though. Udit said “besurapan sasta ho gaya”. Kailash Kher was dumbfounded and said “pehli baar aisa ajooba dekha hai”. Funny. Time for Ankita mishra, 17. She sang “Koi mil gaya”. She had the energy and the confidence. She also sang “Tu sirf mere mehboob meri mehbooba” and said to Anu she became a big fan of him after hearing this song. Interesting (there was a cut there) … when Udit was speaking she was kinda saying aap point pe aa jaayiye . Restless for the result eh. And she got the Yellow card.
Malik and co is so happy they get into a impromptu jamming session to make an Indian Idol song with lyric that goes like “Ladka banega and Ladki banegi etc “… Apologies. Dont rememeber more than that. Customary Colgate Hasso Tho Khul Ke Haso. Time for Sunil Bhatia, 23 to create some laughs. Shiva Roshan Varma claimed he is classically trained from a Guru Mr. LK Pandit (apologies if the name is wrong) who is close friend of Kailash. He murdered the durbari and claimed on top of it yeh unke (judges) samajh se oopar hai … yeh kya hai hamaare saamne. Concluding part had a mother who is extremely angry that Anu Malik is not fair and spews vengence saying Anu singer bhi nahi hai … kaise judge karengey.

Thats it. Next week for more. Please share your comments. Once again, apologies for any errors and omissions.

I am particularly a big fan of review from Mr. Sprout. Read him all the way during Season 2. Long live Sprout.

http://www.curlio.com/article/9612/last/Indian_Idol_3_-_Curtain_Raiser

1st Episode

Part 1 http://www.zshare.net/video/ii3-040507-1-wmv.html

Part 2 http://www.zshare.net/video/ii3-040507-2-wmv.html

Part 3 http://www.zshare.net/video/ii3-040507-3-wmv.html

Part 4 http://www.zshare.net/video/ii3-040507-4-wmv.html

Enjoy!

The show started off with the clippings from the previous seasons and intor to this years season by the hosts. Immediately the judges Anu Malik, Javed, Alisha and Udit were introduced. Funny Anu Malik asks one of the guys waiting for audition ” You know how am I isnt it?!” Hmm … The Delhi, Amritsar and Jammu auditions were covered this week. The first contestant was Shubhangi, 21. Anu Malik immediately Okayed her. However, Javed objected saying her pronunciation is lil weak and she sounds more western and the hindusthani touch is missing. Udit goes on to say the singing sounded artificial. Malik became sad that they missed a good voice and said Javed saab … Hadh kar di aapne.

Second in line is Prem Rajan from Kerala. Udit sang song in Malayalam (one of his Malayalam film songs). He sang Na Jaane Kabse (with some guitar) and later on Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaaye w/o the guitar as requested by Anu. Like always we need some suspense during the break. Malik said before the break that his voice was imperfect. Wonder how these REALITY SHOWS are being shot with the breaks as well in mind. So much for reality. After the break, Malik says his imperfect is perfect enough for Mumbai. Sigh.

Some interlude and we heard a young lad from Punjab saying in typical punjabi accent … mera voice hard rock voice hai and I will rock TO anyone … funny ! 

Next Amit Sharma. MA Music and all of 21. He sang Mitwa (KANK). Pretty good. Except for the pronunciation of the word Dhadkan. Our Malik became creative here. Claiming this never happened before in II. He asked Javed to write coupla lines and he will tune it and the contestant will need to sing. Jave saab wrote ” Kuch bhi kahiye … Magar yun na khamoshi se dil naa todiye” … Anu, Javed liked the rendering. Udit said “shabd main maturity hai “… whatever that means. Alisha said thoda sur hata magar pick up achi hai. 

Some clips of people acting like some beggars asking to be made Indian Idol. Bad taste.

I cant believe some people who dont deserve are put in front of the elite judges. Everyone shud know this. During the initial auditions held at various cities there is this first shortlist done by some Sony/BMG guys and only those who they think has the capability are given a chance to appear b4 the judges. Its indeed irritating to see such characters who pass the inital screening just in the name of ENTERTAINMENT. Hope Sony doesnt go too far else II3 will get Sanjayaed and Malakared. There was this guy who sand Tujhe dekha tho yeh jaana sanam. How pathetic. Huh … But likes what Udit said … Awaaz koi kela nahi jo mele ke thele main khareed sakte hai … LOL …

The we had Jaspreet whose inspiration were the unhappy security guards in his hostel who could not bear his singing all night and his friend who goaded him to dikha do security guards ko what he is made of … awww … need a break … less said the better …

Then the time of Ads being made part of the show … Fat lady walks into the audition room laughing like one mad cow … (Sony we know she is not a participant) and the ad below … what else … Hasso Tho Khul ke Haso from Colgate …

And this is a stretch … Mr. Samir walks in with abouquet, framed photograph of Alisha etc etc … and gets so emotional saying he waited for so many months to meet to Alisha. He said he was a fan since 85. And he didnt look OLD at all ?!  Anyways after the Happy Birthday drama he was not selected at all.

Most promising. Richa Aneja. What a kiddo. Young, innocent and extremely talented. Watch her and she is going to take the show by storm. MARK THESE WORDS. She sang a old song and Beedi Jalaile with great display of the range she has. Anu just stood up and gave the Yellow slip to Mumbai. Cute when she asked kaunsa gaana yaad karke aana padega …

Next Surudee … (apologies if the name is spelled wrong). She sang More Piya … thought she rushed things a little bit … lengthy discussions … and she cudnt make it to Mumbai …

Ram Rustagi sang Jhanak Jhanak Tore … Rejected …He walks off and comes back in asking for a second chance. Sings well and judges are surprised. They ask him are you the same Ram … And our Ram walks in … Guy who came in after Ram and sang was Shyam … his twin  brother … Ram’s feedback wasnt in sur … Shyam in Sur … and the questions … Sur main gaaya magar kyo nahi liya .. Hume kya pata Shyaam ! Golmaal hai bhai sab golmaal hai …

My thoughts … nothing new … except for the judges … looks like Javed and Anu have been asked to stage quite a few heated arguments … I am being optimistic here … hoping for better delivery of the program !

Note: Apologies for all TYPOS … grammatical erros … and errors and omissions … all done in a hurry !!! Are there any helping hands out there?! Leave me a comment.

Wait is finally over and the first episode will be aired this Friday night. The episode will feature the Delhi auditions. True to the tradition of all reality shows, the episode will feature interesting debate between Anu Malik and Javed Akhtar regarding the participant Shubhangi. The episode features a Delhi lad, a huge fan of Alisha, come with abig poster, teddy bear as a gift and breaking into Happy Birthday tune. Enjoy.

Indian Idol 3 will start within a few days. How eagerly are you looking forward to it?

I will be out for my solo performances for a couple of days but whenever I will find the time; I will definitely watch the show. I was a part of the first series of this show and even today I am emotionally attached with this.

There has been a lot of saying about KBC 3 that it is missing the zing and its TRP rating is also falling down. Do you think that the Indian Idol 3 will be as successful as its earlier two series?

Yeah, it is true that KBC 3 did not have the same flavour as its first two seasons had. Though a super star like Shahrukh Khan was hosting KBC 3, but audience found something missing in it. But I don’t think that Indian Idol 3 will meet the same fate. Rather I believe that Indian Idol 3 will be grander and more successful than its first two seasons.

On screen many times we see emotional moments and a lot of friendship among contestants. Are these true reflections of emotions or an act to take the TRP ratings up?

For days, the contestants live under one roof and practice together. In such scenario, it is very natural to get attached with each other emotionally. Though they are competitors, yet during the practice sessions you will find them correcting each other, sharing their opinions and giving suggestions to each other for improvement. So, whatever you see on the screen is not a synthetic picture. In fact they are the expressions of real feelings.

For more:

http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=124935

Singer Udit Narayan lashed out at legendary lyricist Javed Akhtar on the sets of Indian Idol 3. “Mujhe aise show ki koi zaroorat nahin hain. Lagta hein Sony ko bhi meri zaroorat nahi hain,” The row started when Akhtar made edgy remarks about the poor hosting skills of Aditya Narayan (Udit’s son), the host of Zee’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa — Challenge 2007, say sources.

Just last month, Aditya was chosen above other contestants for the role due to his sound musical background, training in UK with three distinctions in western music, and his style of managing big crowds, says Tarun Mehra of Zee TV. The five judges confirmed for the Zee show are Ismail Darbar, Bappi Lahiri, Himesh Reshammiya, Vishal and Shekhar.

On the hand, Udit is a jury member of Indian Idol 3 along Alisha Chinai, Anu Malik, and Javed Akhtar. Incidentally, this weekend, as Zee TV launches Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, and Sony Entertainment Television, Asia, will be introducing the third series of its musical talent show Indian Idol 3.

While the two shows fight for audiences’ attention on launch day May 4, it seems that seniors of the musical fraternity will be on guard lest they cross Udit Narayan the wrong way.

As reported by Time of India:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/City_Supplements/Pune_Times/Udit_takes_on_Javed_over_son/articleshow/1986271.cms

Alisha Chinai and the evergreen music producer Anu Malik, decided upon three lucky Londoners – Harshida Madhaparia (19), Chirag Rao (26) and Rekha Paunrana (19)  – who will be on their way to Mumbai to join their Indian counterparts in the Theatre stage of the competition.