April 5th 2008 witnessed the conclusion of another popular reality show on Indian television. Aishwarya Majmudar from the state of Gujarat was crowned 'Chhote Ustaad' who was successful in beating her equally-talented competitor, Anwesha Dutta Gupta of
Kolkata. The trophy was awarded by the legendary actor of Indian cinema, Amitabh Bachchan. Besides him, there were the three permanent judges of the show, viz., Kunal Ganjawala, Shreya Ghosal and Pritam, along with various other distinguished personalities who witnessed some top-quality singing from the two teenagers. It was a night to remember for true music aficionados, for the finale of Chhote Ustaad celebrated the true spirit of music rather than anything else.

However, there were quite a few things that were distinctly different in Chhote Ustaad’s case vis-àvis a host of other similar music reality show finales that have happened on Indian television previously. To start with, it was perhaps for the first time that the finale of a music reality show showcased girls as finalists. Previously, it had happened several times where despite being highly-talented, girls found themselves out of the contest before the finales approached. Secondly, it was extremely difficult for each and every person to actually judge as to who was the better singer. Many a times, it had happened that one of the finalists was a talented guy while the other banked on the audience votes to sail through. Singing-wise, it was easy to judge the possible winner. Examples in this context are plenty. Debojit and Vineet of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005, and last year’s Indian Idol finale where Amit Paul was pitched against Prashant Tamang (considered an inferior singer by most as compared to Paul) are some to be mentioned in this context.

Anwesha and Aishwarya displayed some incredible talent which made each and every music enthusiast go fida. For the first time since the first version of Indian Idol (that heralded the custom of audience voting on reality shows), it was observed that the Indian audience voted sans casteism, racism, regionalism and other such irrelevant considerations. Probably it was due to this reason that it was a neck-to-neck fight between the two finalists till the end. Probably, it was this factor that restricted the channel from disclosing the number of votes by which Aishwarya had actually beat Anwesha to claim the title.

So what was/were the reasons that made Chhote Ustaad a reality show of a different league? Was it the format of the show or the sheer talent of the two girls? In all possibility, it was a mix of both. Judges had 50% control over the fate of contestants for most part of the show and it was Anwesha who often was found to be in the ‘Scary Zone’ due to lack of audience votes. Had the judges not used their judicious approach, things could have gone terribly wrong not just for the 13-year-old from Kolkata but also for Chhote Ustaad. Perhaps in that case, the contest might have concluded as another non-descript music reality show finale. The excitement, the uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the finale, would have long been lost. It was perhaps because of the judges and the power offered to them that made Chhote Ustaad a high voltage musical entertainer from the start till the finish.

The sheer talent of the two girls can in no way be discounted. It was definitely their enchantingly melodious voices that restricted people from thinking about anything else apart from music while they voted. It was their talent that made the question: ‘Kaun Banega (i) Chhote Ustaad?’ one of the greatest myth of the year 2008.

With Chhote Ustaad, the quality of music reality shows in India has certainly raised manifold. Hope this show proves to be a trend-setter in the days ahead.

Concluded.

* Contributed by -
Kisholoy Roy,
MBA (Marketing),
Content Editor, Infoedge Management Solutions.