Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Grand Finale | Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2009

Here is the thing about SRGMP that is so entertaining. It throws up stuff from left field when you least expect it. But allow me to explain.

The finale of SRGMP - all eight hours of it, or so it seemed - was scheduled to climax with Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone, stars of the mega hit CC2C. At least that is how the thinking must have been way back when the stars were booked. Unfortunately, Chandni Chowk went belly up faster than the Titanic and the producers didn't make any adjustments to the show's script.

The first indication of this came when Deepika walked out on stage, looking long and angular in a white saree and had to jhelo questions from Head about her movie. This must have been painful. But Deepika negotiated this moment with grace, calling the audience reaction "mixed" but thanking those that had supported the flick.

Later Akshay showed up. Undeterred by the Deepika awkwardness, Head went hammer and tongs at Akshay with praise of his "hit". A montage of positive audience reaction was displayed.

Akshay looked distinctly depressed and launched into a monologue of how when you are down people throw stones at you, but you should pick them and use them to fortify your own foundation. "I'm telling this to the contestants who are waiting for the results inside" said Akshay. Beshak, my man. Beshak.

More was to follow. Calling Head 'Aditya sahab', Akshay said that by referring to his movie as a hit, Head had shown his badhappan. At this point Head began to grasp the delicacy of the situation - which he indicated by sticking his tongue out. Years of seasoning then prompted Head to ask Akshay to announce the results and move the show along. "The results are already in" wailed Akshay. "I've failed!"

Although I could feel Akshay's pain - and I continue to wish him the best - I couldn't help but chuckle. A lot. I was absolutely transfixed at this drama (when it comes to SRGMP, I entertain easily).

Besides this if there was one moment that really stood out, it was at the very beginning - a moment that veritably defines SRGMP. The grand finale was stage with the recently ravaged Taj as its backdrop. Clearly people had worked hard to deliver a gorgeous stage. The entire setting was beautiful. And it was very touching. Wow, I thought to myself: has SRGMP gone all classy on us?

Then the show started and the three finalists - Soumen Nandi, Vaishali Made and Yashita Sharma - strutted on stage to sing. Fwoosh - a gigantic gush of air blew Vaishali's kameez straight up, threatening to expose the poor girl's midriff. Vaishali cocked her waist and grabbed the flying thing, holding it down while trying to look cool and sing. This little wardrobe malfunction restored my faith in the show instantly.

Although I'm not particularly interested in who wins the competition - I should mention that the steady stream of regional revelation of votes (International votes! North Zone votes! East Zone votes!) had me thinking Yashita might well beat the odds here.

But the West Zone votes came in and Vaishali ended up winning the entire thing. Happily, the remaining two contestants didn't sulk glumly. Yashita joyfully bounced around the stage declaring how khush she was. Well done!

Finally, a word about Head who might well have hosted his last SRGMP episode as a regular host. I loved that all black outfit - clearly a tribute to Batman. Head looked styling throughout the show although his pants were too long (I'm just saying). And when he got dropped on stage via a flaming crane, the pride in dad Udit Narayan's eyes was very cute to behold. Head has gotten better each year. Don't go by that montage they showed of him as tribute - you know the one in which he inexplicably tried to imitate drag queens. Repeatedly. Head was terrific this year. I'll miss him.

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