Well, this is my first review so please pardon my French. Constructive criticism shall be highly appreciated.
Long back a series used to be aired on television (I think on DD) called Flop Show by Jaspal Bhatti. There was an episode in it of a horror film, which got the national award for the ’best comedy’. Fame Gurukul somehow reminds me of that show. It’s a program with a flawed concept that surprisingly has clicked with the audience.
Let me explain---- Just by looking at the name you think of competition programs like Sa-Re-Ga-Ma etc. Well Fame Gurukul is also based on the same premise, but it is a fusion of sorts. How------- The Producer..or-whoever-he-is-who-started-the-concept, wanted a competition program wherein some participants shall match their singing prowess and try to outperform each other to come out the winner. So far so good. But The Producer..or-whoever-he-is-who-started-the-concept went one step further and decide to give it the feel of a Reality Show, ubiquitous in the US media now-a-days, then they decided to make it more interactive by audience polls etc, probably they wanted to create a singing Indian Idol. The net result was what they call in North India--a ’’Bawli Handia’’--a hotch potch.
Because of the emphasis given to the public polls the winner need not be the best singer. The public often gets swayed by emotions other than aural and votes en masse for a not-so-bright-singer.
Because of the reality show feature incorporated in it, the main theme of singing and music and songs has gone to the backburner and in comes…..you know…..sweet nothings & chuhalbaazi. When, even a judge of Javed Akhtar’s repute falls into the trap and gives tongue in cheek remarks about the budding relationships of two of the characters instead of analyzing their vocal abilities, you feel sure that this game is no more about music.
The producers themselves have shown that they are not much interested in bringing out singing sensations by the judges they invite. Supermodels and actors who don’t even have their diction correct cannot judge about music.
But….but…but….but…the program is immensely watchable for its sheer fun. Its sheer raw power holds you down on the seat. Something like Antakshari. Average singing, above average fun. The only thing I haven’t been able to figure out is (as has already been mentioned in this forum) how Sony shall write a Rs One Crore contract with at the most an average singer. Anyway that’s Sony’s headache! We’ll just sit back and enjoy!!
Bye!!!