For SVOI, it was the last week of wooing the viewers before the D-day next week. This week the two finalists Harshit and Ishmeet performed in their home grounds Ludhiana and Varanasi.

As expected, both the boys got a heroes welcome back home, and the crowd response was overwhelming. The participants also left no stones unturned to out perform one another whenever they got the chance to perform. However at this point, Ishmeet is leading over Harshit by about 10% votes. Two points that stood out this week like an eyesore was the way regionalism was being advocated throughout, in both the Ludhiana and Varanasi shows. The other sore factor was the “Talk-athalon” sessions that Shaan, the judges, the special guest - Ravi Kishen Shukla, the participants' family members resorted to not just in the praise of the participants, but also in praising the states or conducting those numerous “who is better” polls. Between them all, they took up the maximum show time talking while the participants got minimum time to perform. The use of Bhojpuri, the use of “Sasri Akal, Bholenath, Har Har Mahadev, and Ganga Mayiiya and spotlight on all that pooja path/havan were such overkill that performances of the participants got overshadowed. Both the contestants on the other hand gave some really superb performances, and it was quite difficult for anyone to judge who was better.

If the talkathon session of SVOI brought the frustrated tears to eyes, then in SaReGaMaPa L'il Champs, it was “Delhi ki Roshni”- Vasundhara’s “Tera mujhse hain pehle ka naata and the Hari naam” that not only overwhelmed the judges, but left the audience speechless with emotions. If tears of joy came out on Friday, then on Saturday in the Masti ki Pathshala, it was the mimicry by Sonu and Aditya that left the audience rolling with laughter. The children also gave brilliant performances to make the show very enjoyable. The show has everything but the overall chemistry between the two judges is completely lacking. Both the judges seem to be going their own way during the show. At times, it gives a feeling that maybe a third judge could have been a better idea. Overall this was a week that was filled with music, masti and some memorable moments.

It’s really strange that while one musical show's simplicity is attracting the viewers, the other show has got so scripted that it has lost its basic essence and along with the changing format, it has lost the audience as well. At a time when the participants should be enthralling the audience with their mesmerizing voices and performances, the show packagers seems to focus more on voting polls, campaigns, and every thing else, but singing.

Author: Barnali

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