I saw pretty much all of it (albeit with channel-flicking to Hell's Kitchen in the breaks), and found it fascinating on several levels, despite knowing very little about Bollywood itself (and having never managed to sit through an entire film). I thought it managed to transcend the Pop Idol format, possibly because it bled into a number of more interesting areas (family, race, culture, "body fascism").
I found the drip-feed of little dramas compelling, especially the fat girl still processing her mother's suicide, and the mother-daughter team (I was really quite moved when, against expectation, the mother finally broke the news of her success, and her daughter seemed genuinely happy for her). Felt a little sorry for the bald white guy (who looked vaguely Babylon 5).
Like Haus, I wondered whether the apparent paucity of Bollywood-level talent had forced the judges to seek secondary characters as well as hero/heroine - but they did seem to be looking for gusto as much as anything else, and I was pleased to see the short, fat contestants going through. We didn't see many males auditioning, but perhaps that'll change in the second round.
I felt the spectre of Pop Idol seemed to hover rather heavily over the whole thing, for both judges and contestants (Bally Sagoo, I though, was self-consciously attempting to 'do a Cowell'). Initially, I thought this might explain the number of non-Asian entrants (y'know, it's another 'Idol', another none-too-discriminating shot at stardom, blah blah utter pishcakes), but several of them really seemed into Bollywood - making me wonder whether its appeal is broader than I think, and I ought to make more of an effort to see a whole film.
Hmmmm... |
