Delhi, Allahabad, Ahmedabad and Kolkata. These were the cities in which auditions were being held for selecting the finalists for Indian idol on Sony TV on Sunday. The judges were Anu "Ctrl C" Malik, Sunidhi "Smug" Chauhan and a third guy whose name or credentials, I'm unaware of.
The show was in Hindi, a language that I spent a few years trying to get acquainted with and nothing significant to show for it. But lack of Hindi skills didn't pose any serious challenge towards understanding what the show, or atleast the auditions, was about: a sequence of people willing to, nay, hell bent on making complete fools of themselves on a big stage. And the judges going out of their way to help them on this mission.
Sample this: A twenty something girl prancing around in what can be best described as a "loose sari" claiming to be Katrina Kaif's sister and singing in a voice that held such an animosity towards shruthi. And the judges taking turns to mock her, leading to heated exchanges between judges and the judgee. All this on air, passing off as entertainment, beamed across large swathes of inhabited parts of the earth. Recording the auditions and getting them sponsored is the closest Sony TV has come to pulling rabbits out of hats. [Maybe this is routine in the Idol show format. And may be I've been living under a rock]
Now, I won't question the selections themselves. I'm as talented in music as Anu Malik is in...well, never mind. That analogy ain't going nowhere. But Mr. AM passing scorching comments, (styling himself after Simon Cowell?) on the lack of talents of the aspirants? Or Sunidhi acting like she is Lata Mangeshkar in a modern dress while mocking at someone? The lack of talents in many of the competitors were rivalled only by the lack of finesse in all the judges. And it was an even match.
And the compulsory drama around each selection and rejection. The elaborate celebrations with that mandatory sweet box always at arm's length, dads prostating at the feet of the judges, crying mothers: it was like watching a bad movie. Isn't there a law against such crimes/violations?
If my grandmother were alive and watching this show, her comment would have been "நாசுக்க தொட்ட கையால தொடல" (nasukka thotta kaiyaala thodalai, very roughly, absolutely devoid of any class)
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