For the last two seasons, the coveted title of Indian Idol has been grabbed by two boys, Abhijit Sawant and Sandeep Acharya.

However, the girls who are competing in season three are showing off not just talent, but also oodles of glamour, style and attitude. So would Indian Idol 3 be a girl? When this question was posed before three of the 13 finalists, Charu Semwal, Deepali and Ankita Mishra, they were all smiles. In their first ever media interaction organised by Sony Entertainment Limited, the trio said they wished that one of them would go on to become Indian idol 3.

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Hailing from Dehradoon, 20-year-old Charu Semwal always dreamt of becoming a singer. “For me, every moment during Indian Idol is precious.

I have dreamt of this kind of life,” says Charu. One of the strongest contenders, Charu feels that she can be the Indian Idol because she scores in terms of singing, performance and good looks. “I am working really hard on my singing and I believe my performance has been appreciated by the audience. And then, I look good too,” says doe-eyed Charu with a giggle.

Not far behind is Deepali, the 19-year-old from Patna. Deepali, who is not only a singer, but an actor and a dancer as well. Her RJ act had won her a lot of fans (including programme anchor Mini Mathur) on the show. “For me, getting into Indian Idol means making the dream of every daughter come true. People who believe that daughters cannot do anything should see that here, daughters like us are doing wonders,” says Deepali. “I am sure that I can win because I not only concentrate on my singing, but also on my performance,” says Deepali.

The last one, whose fate was still hanging in mid-air as the results of the wild card round were to be announced on Saturday night’s episode, is Ankita Mishra. Hailing from neighbouring Kanpur, Ankita

prefers to be called Ankit on the show. She has made judges Alisha, Udit Narayan and Javed Akhtar dance to her tunes. “My USP is not just my singing, but also the way I interact with my audience,” says the 17-year-old. On Saturday, she was more feminine than sporting her usual tomboy looks.

“I am a very down to earth girl and it is just my dress that is changing, not my attitude,” says Ankita. “I want to become a performer and win the hearts of people,” she said. The trio surely shows a lot of promise. And with the Gala round starting off from June 29 onwards, India is looking forward to watch the fate of these three talented singers.

The Indian Idol 3 episode ended with a boring cliff-hanger! Who will the esteemed judges choose out of Padmanav Bordoloi, Ankita Mishra and Suhit Gosain as the Lucky Thirteenth!? they obviously had never discussed amongst themselves who should re-enter the competition! They had to do it with the camera running, how else would the home viewers know that judges were doing their jobs, right?

So the show started with Mini Mathur and Hussain telling us that the judges were undecided last night! Really? The fact is that the show was recorded few days back, but do go on! So, they had huddled together to make a choice –

Cut to judges discussing the contestants!

Present it as was seen and heard!

Annu Malek: Suhit is a good performer, but Ankita is a better singer!
Udit Narayan: If you are talking about good singer, Padmanav is better than Ankita!
Javed Akhtar Saab: Yes, it is true that singing is important, but performance too is equally important!
Alisha Chinai: If that’s the criteria, we should consider Suhit, what’s wrong with him? (Oy! I don’t even know where to start! One must admirably loathe Alisha for supporting Suhit!)
Javed Akhtar Saab: It’s not that we are looking for either a good singer or a good performer; we are looking for a person, who has both of these qualities!

Secret discussions

Javed Akhtar Saab: So we all agree? Great! I am happy that we all are happy about the choice!

Back in the studio –

This is Indian Idol 3 – The Wild Card Results Episode Part Two!

Mini Mathur and Hussain called Suhit, Ankita and Padmanav on the stage and asked the judges what their decision was!

Javed Saab said that it was a very difficult decision as all the judges spent a considerable time discussing the merits and demerits of each contestant! It was a very tough call!

Mini pleaded to Javed Saab that he should announce the results as soon as possible! Javed Saab retorted by asking whether they thought the hosts expected the name just like that without creating the clichéd suspense! Javed Saab actually the answer is YES!

Thankfully, he must have heard me, because he said that the judges had decided that Ankita Mishra would be the Lucky Thirteenth!

Now, get this – Hearing Ankita’s name, the atmosphere in the Winners’ Circle was rather astounding because one could almost see that some contestants were not really happy about her inclusion, in particular Richa Aneja! The reception of Ankita in Winners’ Circle was lukewarm at best! Annu even commented that the gals in particular were not happy that Ankita was back in the competition!

So we finally said goodbye to Suhit Gosain! The good news is Alisha fought for him till the very end and the other good news is the comment that Annu Malek made about Suhit was thankfully edited from the show! Annu’s comment actually made the news and since many might not know, I am mentioning it!

Annu had said that Suhit was like a cockroach, which creeps back, no matter how many times one flushed it down the toilet! These were Annu’s words, not mine! So don’t bark at this tree, because it is a very wrong tree! Also, never shoot the messenger!

Javed Saab does not seem that harsh now, does he? I am a little shocked that Annu said this because as far as I knew, he was a Suhit supporter like Alisha! Anyway, I am glad that they did not humiliate Suhit on International Television before he exited!

Anyway, Mini and Hussain asked Padmanav and Suhit to say parting words. Padmanav said that he was privileged that the judges brought him back in the competition and he and Suhit had formed a special bond. Suhit always told him that Padmanav shouldn’t linger longer than Suhit in the competition and vice versa! So he was happy that they were leaving together! Aw, that’s sweet! Good to know Suhit is a nice bloke!

Suhit didn’t get the chance to say anything so the most talked about contestant of Indian Idol 3 went out of the competition without saying a word! Who says life is not full of ironies?

Anyway, so newsworthy stuff ended in the first five minutes, what happened next has to be seen rather than read, but I will try and capture the fun that was remainder of the show!

The guest star of the show was Sunidhi Chauhan – who by the way was a product of a Competitive Reality Show! So to say all the reality show winners wither away in India is not true! Talented ones do make a mark! To know what performances should be like, one must see Sunidhi perform – she was mind-blowing!

Sunidhi kick started her set by singing, “Crazy Kiya Re” – She did an awesome job! Parleen Singh Gill was either too excited or he knew that the camera would capture him, because he was in full form and trying to dance the steps of the song! It was really cute though! I have heard that Sunidhi gives great stage performances and although I have not seen even one of her shows, I would love to go for one! Really good!

Then… Deepali and Charu Semwal sang, “Beedi” – a song sung originally by Sunidhi and we know that Charu sings the song well, but man, tonight she was awesome. In fact for a minute there I thought Deepali was singing with Sunidhi! However, I must say more than Charu, Deepali was just awesome, the harkats or the embellishments they both employed were so beautiful that frankly it was one of the finest performances of the night! Sunidhi joined the duo with all the other gals and took the song to an entirely different level! Y’all must see it to believe it!

Sunidhi said a few words praising and encouraging the Top 13!

After that the Top 13 took the stage by taking a trip down memory lane!

Smita Adhikari, (who by the way is receiving steroids treatment to reduce her acne) Charu, Puja Chatterjee and Ankita started the medley with, “Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo”!

Meiyang Chang, Emon Chatterjee and Parleen in bell-bottoms (I kid you not) took over with, “Ena Meena Deeka”!

Then three guys and three gals were paired up for, “Aajkaal Tere Mere Pyaar Ke Charche” and they were,

Abhishek Kumar with Jolly Das, (Abhishek was wearing a flaming red bell-bottom),
Prashant Tamang with Deepali,
And Amit Paul with Richa!

After that the boys came together to sing, “Aao Twist Karen” – Yes, you are supposed to do the Twist!

And the medley ended with the Top 13 singing, “Babu, Samjho Ishare, Aur Hum Pukare” from one of my all time favourite Indian comedy, “Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi”!

Obviously, Annu could not help but join in the twist after such an amazing medley and asked Alisha to join him for a twist! After it was all over, Udit said that none of the performers on stage were bad and they all did an excellent job!

Then Mini and Hussain informed us that the final competition would kick start from June 28th, 2007, but till then the Top 13 would have fun with Sunidhi!

And hence as a fitting finale to this awesome episode, Sunidhi decided to sing, “Sajnaji Wari Wari” and after a while, the Top 13 joined her! This song is so popular that one cannot escape it at any discos or pubs in India! It is a fun song and I would be lying if I said that me gal and I did not jump up and dance like crazy when they were performing! The great thing was that one could almost feel the enjoyment of all the contestants!

So next week, the grind starts! Thankfully, this year all the contestants are really good, that is, if you don’t count Jolly Das! So the competition is going to be really awesome, but that also means that everyone will be only as good as their last performance! Also, this year I am hoping that there might be no more controversies because finally we know that S(u)hit does not fly always! (I know, that was a cheap shot but look at it this way; no one is going to mention him again! And I am mentioning him because I am jealous! NOT!)

Also, to all those who pitied us, should pity themselves, because unfortunately we are always right! He he! Just kidding!

The contestants of Indian Idol 3 are the best ever confesses Anu Malek who has been with the show since the first season. It explains why the judges could not come to a consensus on their choice for the Wild Card Entry last night. They reserved their verdict last night but tonight it shall be revealed. Who will the judges vote for? That is a surprise!

Celebrity guest Sunidhi Chauhan makes the wait worthwhile with her star presence and simply mind blowing performance. She drives people crazy with her singing and when she sings Crazy kiya re it is near pandemonium. The singer, herself a winner of a popular singing contest, joins contestants to set the stage on fire with Beedi Jalaile… Sunidhi is an idol for most of the young contestants for whom it was a dream come true to share the stage with her! Sunidhi, on her part asked the judges to judge her performance and Anu Malek had just one word for her: “Rock Star!”

Inspired by Sunidhi’s presence the girls gave a spirited performance with a medley of retro songs …ranging from the hit Helen number Mera naam Chin Chin Chu …to the Mumtaz-Shammi Kapoor hit Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche… from Brahmachari to 60’s hit Aao twist karen from Bhoot Bangla. Must say they were even dressed for the occasion! The boys couldn’t resist joining in the fun and at the end of it simply turned out to be a dance riot on stage with everyone having a blast as Sunidhi belted … Sajna ji vaari vaari jaonji.

Catch the Saturday Night fever at 9 p m on Indian Idol on 23 June only on Sony Entertainment Television.