LG ABS EPISODE 47

It was appropriate to start the 47th installment of LG Awaaz Banaey Star with ‘Ahir Bhairav’. Ahir Bhairav is a Sub Continental classical raga. It is a mixture of Bhairav and the ancient but now rare raga Ahiri or Abhiri. It’s an early morning Raga and characterized by the use of Komol Re and Komol Ni, the lyrics of the songs are often written with morning sequences in mind. The guy who took on this daunting task was none other than ‘Hamza’ himself.

One of the greatest hits of Manna Dey set in Raga Ahir Bhairav – “Puchho na Kaise Maine Rain Bitai” from the blockbuster Bollywood film “Meri Surat Teri Aankhen” in 1963. S.D Barman another legend from Bengal set the tune of the song for Manna Dey.

Round 1
Hamza starts the song off in Taal ‘Kaherava’. The judges will judge him harshly if he mixes it up with any other ‘Raga’. Hamza manages to lift it up elegantly and you could see Nizar Lalani with his eyes closed completely immersing himself into the experience he was going through. Not just your average singing competition, the ‘Taals’ ‘n ‘Raags’ are put to the test and the true fortitude of music justified!

The milieu in the auditorium is still drenched in raags as Hamza leaves the Star. Next up is Sara. The music starts playing. Sara raises her hand in her signature move as she starts the lyrics. She stretches her right hand and clips her index finger with the other like she’s pinching the air. It’s ‘Tujh Se Naraz Nahi’ the song that recently got reborn in the subcontinent by an unlikely candidate. The judges disapprove of it letting Sara know she needs more improvement.

‘Tu Miley Dil Khile’ is what Raza yearned of when he took the stage next. An off track approach in the beginning till he got to the next stanza. He gathered himself back on to the track as he picks up the shredded pieces of the first notes. He manages to finish it off on a rather decent note. Judges picked on exactly what the audiences must’ve felt. Shaky in the beginning, stability towards the end.

Round 2
It’s Hamza’s turn again and this time round he’s proclaiming ‘Desi girl’ is his kind of stuff. Right from the start as the music prelude began the crowd knew what track it was. The hands were raised, the pulses took flight and the atmosphere was fabricated. A full throttle foot tapping got into swing. A real crowd pleaser right the way through. The judges though, as expected, hammered the idea through that it’s a singing competition not a crowd pleasing extravaganza.

It’s Sara again and she’s announcing ‘Sajna Ji Wari Wari’, a fast paced track that needs a flexible voice with an upbeat factor. Sara unfortunately lacked not only the voice factor in it but also the whole persona that would’ve rightly suited the soul of this song. The judges ruthlessly butchered the approach though they all emphasized how pleasing a personality Sara owned.

It’s Raza and the track is Junoon’s ‘Yar Bina’. OK.... There’s a problem here…. Raza had a whole lot of his friends scattered amongst the crowd and he gets visibly carried away as soon as the music hits the amps. In doing so he forgot he was actually singing for a prize rather he acted he was merely there to win accolades from his friends and it cost him dear. He lost the track early on and never recovered. The judges’ response: ‘It was shouting not singing!’