Browse Archives

By Category

By Date



My Friend Sancho

My first book, My Friend Sancho, was published in May 2009, and went on to become the biggest selling debut novel released that year in India. It is a contemporary love story set in Mumbai, and had earlier been longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize 2008. To learn more about the book, click here.


If you're interested, do join the Facebook group for My Friend Sancho


Click here for more about my publisher, Hachette India.


My posts on India Uncut about My Friend Sancho can be found here.


Bastiat Prize 2007 Winner

Recent entries

Elephant in Kerala

So it’s about 10.45pm, and we’re headed in a tourist taxi to Siena Village, a resort a few kilometres…

‘The Businessman Panicked’

I don’t know why, but I find this kind of funny. And what’s with the quote marks in that…

III = III + III

Jonah Lehrer writes in Wired: Here’s a brain teaser: Your task is to move a single line so that…

‘An Offer They Could Not Refuse’

So while everyone’s celebrating the arrival of Akhilesh Yadav and how he’s revitalised the Samajwadi Party and UP Politics,…

Good Old Dravid…

... is done. The next time India walk out to play a Test match, my favourite sportsman of all…

28 July, 2007

101% at the Indian Idol

The WTF line of the day came a few hours ago from Anu Malik, Indian Idol judge, to Parleen Singh Gill, a contestant:

It was definitely 100, but not 101% performance.

I do not understand this. What is wrong with the world? Does Anu Malik not read my blog? Has he not read this post of mine? Pah!

Anyway, while Malik was expressing his disapproval of Parleen’s performance, the other judges liked it and so did I. I’d said before that if he starts singing competently, he can win the thing—he’s got everything else an Indian idol needs, from looks to stage presence to charisma to likability. Maybe he’s picking himself up at just the right time.

But the man to beat is Amit Paul. Amit was superb again today, and there’s no one else in the competition who looks remotely as good. The others ranged from competent to mediocre today. But with nine people left—one gets voted out in a few hours—there’s still a long way to go. If he’s coasting and his fans get complacent, he could be a surprise loser. I hope not.

In the elimination episode, I think Puja Chatterjee or Meiyang Chang could be in trouble. Prashant Tamang and Abhishek Kumar also seem unlikely to last long. Very uninspiring, they all have been, despite much early promise.

The real entertainment in the show comes from Anu Malik’s fights with Alisha Chinai. Anu certainly puts 101% into it, and Alisha fights back like a cornered kitty. Much fun.

You can read all my Indian Idol posts here.

Posted by Amit Varma in Arts and entertainment | Indian Idol | WTF

Copyright (C) India Uncut - http://indiauncut.com
All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Email: amitblogs@gmail.com
This article is permanently archived at:
http://indiauncut.com/iublog/article/101-at-the-indian-idol/