No loss,no gain

Indian Idol 5
Monday to Thursday 9 p.m,Sony
Déjà vu! That’s what we felt as we watched the first couple of Indian Idol 5 episodes. Serpentine queues,exuberant young boys and girls trying to look and sound cool (well,most of them),contestants going to miserable lengths to impress the judges,a few oddballs fainting and coming up with super sob stories (you know,humble backgrounds,tea-seller fathers,dead mother’s dream etc),a few nut-cases bringing in comic relief,Idol 1 winner Abhijeet Sawant fumbling as host joined by the pleasantly-plump Prajakta Shukre,Anu Malik doing a Simon Cowell yet again,Sunidhi Chauhan easy on the eye with a stylish haircut,a flower ring and trendy clothes but making a desperate effort to ‘fit in’ (though we are sure she will find her groove as the show progresses) and Salim Merchant with his KL Saigal-like haircut trying to find his bearings as a first-time judge – in short,these are the ingredients that make up this season.

A film,they say,is made on the editing table. A reality show too is made on it (the editor here has cut-pasted the ‘shots’ superbly accompanied by funny background music,like a crow cawing when a particularly besura/besuri singer is at it). And though nothing about Idol is a surprise anymore – we know exactly when the judges would pull a fast one on the hapless contestant or the one they will choose – the audition episodes still pass muster because they are entertaining enough (just for the guts and courage of several thousands of those who think they can ‘sing’!).
Verdict:
Like it or leave it,nothing to lose.