Archive for the ‘Singing’ Category
Hindi TV Serials – Long running music talent program – new season of Indian Idol on Sony TV
On April 28, 2010 in Drama, Hindi Serial, Indian Idol, Music, Reality Show, Singing, Song, Sony, TV, Talent, Video
Indian Idol is a long running serial on Sony TV, now running on the 5th edition (the show itself being modeled on a popular American serial of the same type and format). The concept of the show is fairly simple; people from all over the country can apply to showcase their talent (and by now, the auditions of Indian Idol are huge, with a large number of people from all over the country wanting to apply), and then take part in several rounds, being judged by eminent musicians and singers (a jury of 3, out of which Anu Malik seems to be the ever-present member).
Over a period of time, the winner of the contest gets a lot of fame, the opportunity to get a break into the singing industry, and also huge awards from the sponsors (in this case, a 1 year contract with Sony BMG, and also 1 crore as prize money). The winner of the First Indian Idol was Abhijeet Sawant, who is also one of the presenters for the show, the other being Prajakta Shukre (who placed 4th in the first season of Indian Idol). The judges for this season have been changed, with Anu Malik remaining (he remains the judge with the sharpest tongue, claiming that he is a straight talking person), with the others being the singer, Sunidhi Chauhan, as well as the musician and singer Salim Merchant. Both of them are a bit softer on the contestants, but otherwise have their own opinions, and it is also pretty clear that they will take their own decisions (not swayed by Anu Maik). In addition, it is also rumored that the channel would prefer that there be always some amount of conflict so that the show also remains interesting.
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Music reality program – Star Plus – Amul Music Ka Maha Muqqabla, a music contest between teams
On March 28, 2010 in Competition, Contest, Hindi Serial, Melody, Music, Reality Show, Singing, Song, Star Plus, TV, Talent, Video
This was a reality contest, of the music genre, with 6 teams. Typical reality contests are between individuals striving to become an overall champion (like the Indian Idol), so this type of contest is more interesting. The show appeared on Star Plus, starting on December 13, 2009, with a total of 13 weeks, lasting till March 2010.
The show was compered by Ayushmann Khurrana, with the teams fighting it out bitterly. In the case of people such as Himesh Reshammiya, the contest could really become bitter, with him being sarcastic or taunting on many occasions. The teams had some well known singers (with many of them having come from some of the music programs). Within each round, there are 5 contests (what this means is, every episode would have 5 contests), with all members of the team (including the leaders) having to sing.
The teams were led by the following well known personalities (and their team members):
Shaan – Debojit Saha, Anwesha, Harshit Saxena, Shadab Faridi
Shreya Ghoshal – Abhas Joshi, Ujjaini, Aneek Dhar, Rehman Ali
Mohit Chauhan – Amey Date, Hemachandra Vedalal, Ravi Shukla, nikitha Nigam
Mika – Lakhwinder Wadali, Toshi Sabri, Himani Kapoor, Tajinder Singh Ahuja
Shankar – Rahul Vaidya, Sharib Sabri, Sanjeev Kumar, Neeti Mohan
Himesh Reshammiya – Raja Hasan, Vinit Singh, Munawwar Ali, Ashwariya
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Movie – Abhimaan (1973) – A remarkable movie from Amitabh’s early career
On January 26, 2010 in Bollywood, Lyrics, Marriage, Melody, Movie, Romance, Singing, Song, Video
Abhimaan was released in the year 1973, the year that saw Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri officially tie the knot and become husband and wife. In fact they got married just seven days prior to the filming of the song ‘Teri Bindiya Re”. For many industry watchers the plot of the film could have become a real life incident, had Jaya Bhaduri not put on the breaks on her career after her marriage. People still speculate as to whether real life would have imitated reel life had not the superstar’s wife sacrificed her career. However all that is conjecture and takes away from the breath taking sensitivity of this wonderful film.
Subir Kumar (Amitabh Bachchan) is a popular singer who rules over millions of hearts courtesy his songs. His dashing good looks and silken voice are especially irresistible to his legions of female supporters. Subir himself is a carefree young man who enjoys his stardom and his bachelorhood. Chandu (Asrani) is his manager cum best friend and someone keeps him rooted to reality. Subir goes to meet his aunt (Manju Mausi, Durga Khote) and there he meets Uma, whose golden voice enthrals him and whose earthy unaffected charm attracts him. He ends up falling in love with Uma and the two ties the knot.
Movie – Shaan – Starring Amitabh and Shashi Kapoor (released in 1980)
On January 20, 2010 in Bollywood, Classic, Lyrics, Melody, Movie, Music, Singing, Song, Video
Shaan, released in the year 1980, almost four years after the blockbuster, Sholay. The common thread between these two films is the director, Ramesh Sippy. Great things were expected from the man who had given Indian cinema its mammoth blockbuster in the form of Sholay. Almost everybody who had seen Sholay was expecting a repeat performance.
DSP Shiv Kumar Sharma (Sunil Dutta) is an honest and diligent police officer who lives in Bombay (present day Mumbai) with his wife (Rakhi) and son. He also has two wayward brothers in Ravi (Sashi Kapoor) and Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) who are petty crooks. The two of them spend most of their time indulging in schemes that are so wildly ridiculous that one feels that the whole purpose of these plots was not to make money but to have some fun. The two brothers meet their matches in a pair of women-the glamorous Parveen Babi and the somewhat gawky yet charming Bindiya Goswami- who are also good-hearted con artists.
