FREMONT, CA: The last round of auditions for Fog Idol 2017 were held at the Fremont Hindu Temple on Saturday, 22 July from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Co-Chair Anita Karwal and Lakshmi Iyer, FOG Movie Fest Coordinator, were the judges for the round.
The first contestant of the day did not sing; he played the violin. He was Roopaum Mal, competing in the 5-11 age group. He played a couple of classical tunes in a mellifluous manner and then rendered the Indian national anthem with a tune that had some improvisation from the original. Since he did not sing, the organizers decided to pass on his entry to the Youth Innovation Fest.
Seeing the notice on the door of Saraswathi Hall that organizer Anita Karwal had put up, some folks walked into the competition.
The second contestant was Atul Nemani from the 12-17 age group and he sang a couple of English rap numbers. His younger brother, a little boy named Prateek, clad in a dhoti and shirt, wanted to sing, too, and he came up and belted out a few lines just for fun.
There was an adult contestant – Roopa, who sang the “I Love My India…” track from the film, “Pardes”, to the accompaniment of karaoke music. When the judges asked her to sing with no music, she took on the “1942 – A Love Story” hit, “Kyun nayee lag rahi hai…Pyaar hua chhupke se…” She displayed a great command over ‘alaap’ and the pitch crescendos of both songs, not to mention an extremely graceful and affable demeanor.
Next in line was Ankita Chatterjee from the 5-11 age category. Her sister, Aneesha Chatterjee, and mother, Arpita Chattopadhyay, had participated in the 12-17 and 18+ categories respectively during the previous round of auditions. FOG Idol has seen another mom-daughters trio besides Arpita and her daughters, Bhawna Saxena and her two children, Iha and Deeya Bhardwaj.
Ankita participates in choir singing. She sang a contemporary English song with amazing expertise for her age.
Tanmay Jaiswal, a spunky boy also from the 5-11 age group, walked in with his parents. He rendered the famous patriotic number, “Chhodo kal ki baatein…” and then a few lines of a Sanskrit ‘bhajan’. What stood out for the judges was the boy’s spirit and the fact that he seemed to have put his heart and soul into his performance and was enjoying it.
Last but in no way the least was Samvi Ranka, also from the 5-11 age group, accompanied by her entire family, including her grandparents. Her father, Sunil Ranka, was super-supportive and hands on as he helped with her karaoke and also with that of some of the earlier contestants.
It was very clear that Samvi had a keen interest in music. She sang the melodious, “Surmayee akhiyon mein…” from the film, “Sadma”, to the accompaniment of karaoke, her expressions showing her being completely immersed in the lyrics.
For her no-music segment, she sang the modern classical hit, “Moh moh ke dhaage…” from the film, “Dum Lagaa Ke Haisha”. Incidentally, her cousin, Rajvi who had participated in an earlier audition round in the 12-17 years category, had also sung the same number.
With this, the Fog Idol auditions wrapped up. The top 5 contestants from each age group will go through to the finals that will be held at the ‘mela’ grounds on Sunday, August 13, right after the Parade.
India Post News Service
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
