August 4th, 2007 will showcase one of the finest episodes of Indian Idol filled with a lot of fun, lots of singing, lot of great performances, the usual quarelling judges and finally the masaledaar Hindi-movie-style grand finale with more songs, more performances and more masti with Ila Arun and her ghagra!

Folk music will make its debut in this gala round. Contestants will sing different folk songs from different regions. Boys and girls competed efficiently, topping each others’ performances each time. Abhishek, minus his trademark cap, commenced the evening with Rang De Basanti, while Amit continued to charm us like his onscreen counterpart while giving an outstanding performance of the title track of Omkara. Prashant too presented the audience with his best performance to-date. He sang to the tunes of one of Hrithik’s number from Mission Kashmir. Deepali, who was looking as beautiful as Ash as she sang “Nimbuda Nimbuda” superbly. Ila Arun aptly summed up her judgement saying "baat nimbu ki khattas ki lekin gaane mein bahut mithaas thi" . Puja’s version of Mahi Ve brought tears to Annu Malek’s eyes and Javed Akhtar, who isn’t exactly superstitious, suggested that both girls should use a nimbu to ward off the evil eye. Emon, who had been subject to much criticism by Annu Malek, outdid himself with a brilliant rendition of “Preet ki Lath”. Annu was left absolutely stunned and stated that he had indeed found his playback singer. Ankita once again entertained the crowd with her usual power packed performances, this time rocking everyone with “Mein Ayi Hoon UP Bihar Le Ne” and finally Chang brought the evening to a perfect finish, his performance of “Rut Aaygee Re" from the film earth left everyone asking for more.

Adding another string to this fabulous musical night, Ila Arun, the guest celebrity judge got back at Javed Akhtar for what he put her through in a musical show that they co-judged not so long ago. She insisted that he take the stage with her and dance to her tunes of ghagra and he obliged! The result was a laugh riot greater than has ever been seen.

This is definitely an episode that should not be missed! So mark your calendars and set aside the time on 4th August, 2007 at 9pm to tune in for the best episode of Indian Idol only on Sony Entertainment Television.

Author: Khair, Eisha
Slide Show: Srividya Rajesh