Community Post

FOG Idol Finals showcase phenomenal performances

August 29, 2025

Lakshmi Iyer
India Post News Service

Fremont, CA: The Festival of Globe (FOG) Idol finals were held on Sunday, August 3rd, at the Saraswati Hall in Fremont Hindu Temple. The event was packed with phenomenal performances across all the age groups, 5 to 9 years, 10 to 17 years, and 18+ years.

Alka Bhatnagar, UP Ratna awardee, Nehal Raval, classical singer, Sanjay Saxena, director and producer, and Ritendra Datta, Bay Area music maestro were the main judges.

The event began with the customary invocation of Lord Ganesha’s blessings. Ms. Bhatnagar and Ms. Raval sang a brief Ganesh Vandana ‘aarti’ song (“Jai Ganesha Deva…”). Contestant Neil Nayyar, who plays 120+ instruments, rendered a superb saxophone version of the popular, fast-paced “Jai Ganesha” number.

Ritu Maheshwari – FOG Idol Chair,
Sujata Shrivastava, FOG Idol outreach,
Lakshmi Iyer (this correspondent and emcee), rounded up the FOG Idol team.

Poonam Bajaj of SITAARRE TV was the exclusive TV media partner to capture this memorable contest on camera.

Dr. Romesh Japra, Founder of the Festival of Globe (FOG) and India Post, graced the occasion with his presence. Captain Krishan Sharma, and K P Maheshwari, the Chair of FOG Parade, joined Dr. Japra on stage to give away the awards to the winners in the 5 to 9 years’ and 10 to 17 years’ categories.

Sai Yashaswi Shukla opened the finals and the 5-9 years’ age group with the ever-popular “Dil Hai Chhota Sa…” from the 90s Mani Rathnam film, “Roja”, with the score set by A. R. Rahman. Since then, both the film and music directors have achieved legendary status.

Swara Chada then rendered the Telugu version of the same song, “Chinni chinni aasai…”.

Many of the films with A. R. Rahman’s compositions have been dubbed/made in multiple languages, making them relatable to all Indians.

Anay Bhandi chose an olden golden number, “Yeh raatein yeh mausam nadi ka kinaara…”.

Shreya Sutar took it to a different league with her performance of “Udi…” from the film, “Guzaarish”, winning the contest.

Advika Sahoo, the runner-up, sang the title song from “Kalank” for her final performance, giving Shreya tough competition.

Sri Sai Manasa Kristipatti went with a devotional number for her performance.

Anvith Iyer wrapped up the youngest age category with his multilingual performance, starting with the Hindi version of “Kesariya” from the film “Brahmastra”.

Next up was the 10-17-age category. Aadhya Yadav opened in flair with her flawless rendition of the complex melody, “More naina bahaaye neer…”.

Sonal Singh delighted everyone with the soulful evergreen number, “Abhi na jaao chhodkar…” from the film, “Hum Dono”.

Siya Rajvaidya chose another soulful and popular modern number, “Samjhaawaan…”.

Charmie Gajjar sang, “Neele neele ambar par…” in A#, an evergreen song rendered by none other than Kishore Kumar (male version) and Lata Mangeshkar (female version) in the film, “Kalaakaar”.

Paridhi Shah invoked the spirit of patriotism on the occasion of the upcoming India Day celebrations with her performance of “Ae Watan” from the film “Raazi”.

Aarya Jyothiprakash sang the semi-classical, “Bole re papiha…”, impressing everyone with her range.

Aarmaan Chanana, the only male singer in this category, went with the number “Shayad” from the recent film “Love Aaj Kal”, originally sung by Arijit Singh. As during the auditions, Aarmaan channeled his superb voice into the melody, winning the hearts of the listeners.

Mohili Yenni wrapped up the category with a bravura performance of the semi-classical, “Ghar More Pardesiya…” from the film, “Kalank”.

There was a short break with the prize distribution ceremony for the under-18 categories, after which the adult contestants took to the stage.

Angela Tirado, known as the Voice of the Bay Area, set the tone for the evening with her soulful yet gusty performance of “Can’t help falling in love…”.

She and others insisted that Dr. Japra sing, and he obliged, with a surprising and wonderful performance of “Mera geet amar kar do…”.

In the interim, guest singers Srishti and Aditi Sri regaled the audience. Srishti wowed everyone with her rendition of Adele’s “Skyfall”, while Aditi set everyone’s feet tapping to a medley of popular numbers.

Last year’s FOG Idol winner in the 10-17 age group, Shreyank Sutar, also regaled the audience with his golden voice that resonates well with Mohammad Rafi songs. Shreyank is the brother of Shreya, this year’s 5-9 years’ group winner, and son of Sangeetha Sutar, who made her debut at FOG Idol this year.

Dhiren Shah opened the 18+ category powerfully with an ode to Bhagyashree, the Grand Marshal, through his rendition of “Aate jaate hanste gaate… maine pyaar kiya…” from the 1980s blockbuster, “Maine Pyaar Kiya”.

The movie catapulted its stars, Bhagyashree and Salman Khan, to the top of the Hindi film industry popularity charts.

Returning contestant Parag Joshi continued the romantic theme, beginning with his own composition, a ‘shayari’, and the classic, “Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein…” from the Amitabh Bachchan-Raakhee starrer, “Kabhi kabhi”.

Santosh Sahoo gave out a full-throated performance of “Kabhi shaam dhale…”. Due to technical issues with playing his track, he was given a chance to perform again at the end.

Neil Nayyar poured his heart out in the A. R. Rahman patriotic composition, “Maa Tujhe Salaam…”.

Vikas Kumar reiterated his vocal prowess with “Aaja Maahiya”, while Indira Jha and Tina Kutub gave beautiful performances of “Montare” and the classic “Ye raatein ye mausam…” respectively.

The mother-daughter power duo, Aman and Tanisha Bhatti, who have been contestants for the past two iterations of FOG Idol, demonstrated how far they have come in their musical journeys. Aman sang the popular old foot-tapping number, “Aaj kal tere mere pyaar ke charche…” from the Shammi Kapoor-Mumtaz starrer, “Brahmachari”, and Tanisha chose a Punjabi number for her finals performance.

Satish Kumar, another past FOG Idol contestant, impressed with his calm yet notable voice, crooning, “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil…”.

Subha Mohan performed the classic, “Lag jaa gale…” with ease and melody, a song with high-pitched notes that the legendary Lata Mangeshkar originally sang.

Himani Tiwari chose another high-pitched Lata Mangeshkar song, “Dil hoom hoom kare…” composed by Bhupen Hazarika, from the Dimple Kapadia starrer, “Rudaali”.

Sangeetha Sutar rounded up the Lata Mangeshkar fiesta with her confident rendering of yet another golden oldie “Ajeeb daastaan…”.

Finally, senior singer Nirmala Joshi, affectionately and respectfully helped on stage by her son and fellow contestant Parag Joshi, brought the finals to a fitting finish with her performance of “Aaj jaane ki zid na karo…”.

Carmen Montano, Mayor, and Dipak Awasthi, Planning Commission member, both from the City of Milpitas, graced the occasion as the dignitaries, distributing the prizes to the winners in the 18+ category.

Ms. Montano, known as the “singing mayor”, gave guest performances at FOG Idol.

Apart from the first, second, and third prizes, there were many other awards for notable performances in all the age groups.

LIST OF WINNERS

Age 5-9 years: