In the list of 14 contestants, there are four from the Capital in Season 9 of this singing reality show. RACHITA MAlHOTRA chats them up
Stutee Tiwari
The youngest of all, Stutee Tiwari, all of 18 tells you that she has been learning music from Pandit Bhola Nath Mishraji since she was four and has played a great role in her journey so far.
And it all started with this young girl wanting to make her father’s dream come true who himself wanted to be a playback singer, but circumstances prevented him from pursuing his path.
Tiwari, aspires to sing all kinds of songs but her true love lies in singing Pop, Sufi and classical. She tells you that the Indian Idol is the biggest platform to showcase one’s talent and people wait to be a part of it.
“This is because this is one stage where we get special training. We are groomed in a manner that no other platform does or can,” Tiwari says.
This is not the first time that she has been a part of Indian Idol. Three years back she was among the top 20 but was rejected early in the stage. “After being rejected three years back, I waited to qualify again. I didn’t go to any other reality show,” Tiwari tells you adding that this is because Indian Idol is like family to her. Even though she is from Delhi, she has her group with whom she chats and has fun off stage.
“In fact, I don’t sleep unless I have gossiped with Mansi (another contestant from Delhi),” she says.
Her favourite moment at Indian Idol thus far has been the time when she qualified for the auditions.
“I was very nervous just before going in front of the judges. When I saw them my nervousness increased. After I had finished my song the judges called my father and said: “If this is the way she is going to sing, we really can’t give her the golden ticket’. I could not hold back my tears and I started crying. I wanted to give up singing and my first thought was — ‘jana hi pdega ab toh wapis’. Of course, I didn’t hear the next part of their sentence which was — ‘we are going to give her our golden mike’,” Tiwari recalls.
Manya Narang
She has been singing from the age of four and started formal training when she was nine. This 23-year-old contestant from Delhi tells you that it is her husband who is more driven than she is as far as taking singing as a career is concerned.
“My husband is more passionate about my career than I am. Even my in-laws are very supportive. Of course, my parents are always there for me,” Narang says who takes her inspiration from singers like lata Mangeshkar, Arijit Singh and Shreya Ghosal.
Her love for music came because her grandfather used to make her listen to a lot of songs by lata Mangeshkar. It was at age nine that she gave her first public performance where she sang a patriotic song. This was when her parents realised her talent and that she needed formal lessons.
For her, music is everything and aspires to be a playback singer. She also wants to represent Bollywood internationally. “To begin with, it my grandparents, then my parent’s and now my in-laws’ dream that I make it big. This is what keeps me motivated every time,” Narang says. She also tells you that each participant is a great singer. “That is why they are among the top 14. But she likes the way Shravan, Tejender and Khuda Baksh sing.
Mohit chopra
This 27-year-old bhajan and kirtan singer tells you that there was a time when he used to perform at religious events to eke out a livelihood. “Those were days of struggle. I passed out from Class XII and studied ITI for a year. I am not the studious kind and was never interested in higher education. There was a friend of mine who used to play the guitar. He encouraged me to sing. That is how I started singing. I used practise at home then go to his place and practise there as well. We used to make songs and sing them. It was fun,” Chopra recounts.
Then one day, his friend took him for an audition. Fortunately for Chopra he was selected even though he had no formal training in music. “That is when I realised that may be I had some talent and could sing. I also won a free ticket for a live concert of AR Rahman’s show, which was and eye-opener for me. It was great to see him perform live. I knew that I wanted to be like him,” Chopra says.
But he belongs to a middle class family and had responsibilities since his father didn’t have work and Chopra was the sole bread earner. Singing at jagrans and other religious events didn’t only provide the much needed money, it was also about the joy he felt when he sang at such places. The fact that people would bless him was an added bonus.
And who does he see in the top two of the Indian Idol and the answer comes to him easily. “It is me. But on a more serious note, there are great singers on this platform. Each of us can have a bad day. It doesn’t make us poor or bad singers,” he tells you.
The best part of this platform for him is that he is finally getting the technical training that he never had the opportunity to undergo. “Whether I win or not, the training I am getting here is the best thing that has happened to me a long time,” Chopra says.
Mansi Bhardwaj
This 19-year-old was part of Voice of India, Chhote Ustad, Chak De Bache, etc before she finally got the ticket to be part of Indian Idol season 9.
The reason why she is standing on this platform is because of her parents who always supported her. In fact, her mother who loves to sing always supported Bhardwaj when it came to music. Her father was always ready to go with her wherever she had to go for training.
“Not just my parents, even my younger brother and sister have been there with me”, Bhardwaj tells you.
Unlike Chopra who had to struggle, Bhardwaj has had it relatively easy. The only challenge for her was to conquer her fear of performing in front of the judges of various reality shows. “But I got over this phase soon. I knew that if I had to move forward, I had to get over my nervousness. It was do or die. I did,” she says adding that she likes to sing old as well as new songs and has been learning music from the age of 15 years from Dr Rama Sharma.
She also tells you that all the singers in Indian Idol are different and have their won style of singing so it gets difficult to choose one. But she likes the way Mohit Chopra, Khuda Baksh and Malvika Sunder sing.
How music came to her is an interesting story she recounts. She tells you that it was in her father’s office where some children had come to showcase their skill. A girl was playing the Casio and his fascinated her. “I was so taken it by the instrument that I demanded that I too have one. After much pleading, her father bought her a small Casio. But then some told me that what I was playing was a a toy and not a professional music instrument. She broke mine in anger,” Bhardwaj recalls.
It was only after she got a professional instrument did she start playing again and music became part and parcel of her life.