As a person of Indian origin, I am obviously agog with excitement about the Sanjaya Malakar situation on American Idol.
For those who might not be following the story, Sanjaya is a 17-year-old Indian-Italian American who is not a terribly good singer but has made it to (to-date) the round of 8 on American Idol. None of the on-stage judges like him very much, with Simon Cowell the most outspoken about his disdain -- and has been reputed to say that he will leave the show if Sanjaya happens to go all the way. But his fans seem to like his style, and they ignore his singing and they vote off much better singers. He deserves to have fans -- he does have a refreshing manner and is not a bad performer.
So what do I think? On one hand, he is the first desi on Idol's stage-segment (well, okay half-desi) so that is certainly historic and quite uplifting in a "we have arrived" kind of way. But I do wish I was more fond of his performances and could whole-heartedly get fanatical about voting for him and sending him even further up the AI ladder.
(See the youtubeclip of You Really Got Me below -- it embodies everything that is Sanjaya: his mediocre singing but excellent stage-presence, his fan-base (the 13-year-old fan is now quite famous) and the reaction of the three judges.)
The Sanjaya phenomenon is quite the lightning-rod for the media. Washington Post's "We watch Idol so that you don't have to" column has gotten tired of making fun of Sanjaya and now just wishes he would lose and be done with it. Comedians are having a field day with Sun-jaa-yaa. Both votefortheworst.com and Howard Stern -- who want to bring AI down -- are encouraging people to vote for him. Kimmel is quite rabid in his rants. Jay Leno brought on the Oakridge Boys to sing "Goodbye to Sanjaya".
And wouldn't you know it? Sanjaya's pretty, older sister Shyamali is getting some youtube and blog coverage as well. She is good looking and shapely -- a shape she does not hide. One blogger wants Sanjaya to keep winning so the camera will continue to show his sister and her ..er.. bouncy assets
So, I ask myself -- is this kind of "Desis have arrived" good for the desi image? I wonder if the desis in Britain felt the same way when Shilpa Shetty won Celebrity Big Brother -- probably because everybody felt sorry for her because she was getting shellacked by those bratty white trash competitors. Wouldn't it have been better for us to have arrived with a bang than as a joke? Like that stupid Bride & Prejudice movie that was coming-out of Bollywood into the Hollywood market and made a mockery of the whole artform.
For those who might not be following the story, Sanjaya is a 17-year-old Indian-Italian American who is not a terribly good singer but has made it to (to-date) the round of 8 on American Idol. None of the on-stage judges like him very much, with Simon Cowell the most outspoken about his disdain -- and has been reputed to say that he will leave the show if Sanjaya happens to go all the way. But his fans seem to like his style, and they ignore his singing and they vote off much better singers. He deserves to have fans -- he does have a refreshing manner and is not a bad performer.
So what do I think? On one hand, he is the first desi on Idol's stage-segment (well, okay half-desi) so that is certainly historic and quite uplifting in a "we have arrived" kind of way. But I do wish I was more fond of his performances and could whole-heartedly get fanatical about voting for him and sending him even further up the AI ladder.
(See the youtubeclip of You Really Got Me below -- it embodies everything that is Sanjaya: his mediocre singing but excellent stage-presence, his fan-base (the 13-year-old fan is now quite famous) and the reaction of the three judges.)
The Sanjaya phenomenon is quite the lightning-rod for the media. Washington Post's "We watch Idol so that you don't have to" column has gotten tired of making fun of Sanjaya and now just wishes he would lose and be done with it. Comedians are having a field day with Sun-jaa-yaa. Both votefortheworst.com and Howard Stern -- who want to bring AI down -- are encouraging people to vote for him. Kimmel is quite rabid in his rants. Jay Leno brought on the Oakridge Boys to sing "Goodbye to Sanjaya".
And wouldn't you know it? Sanjaya's pretty, older sister Shyamali is getting some youtube and blog coverage as well. She is good looking and shapely -- a shape she does not hide. One blogger wants Sanjaya to keep winning so the camera will continue to show his sister and her ..er.. bouncy assets
So, I ask myself -- is this kind of "Desis have arrived" good for the desi image? I wonder if the desis in Britain felt the same way when Shilpa Shetty won Celebrity Big Brother -- probably because everybody felt sorry for her because she was getting shellacked by those bratty white trash competitors. Wouldn't it have been better for us to have arrived with a bang than as a joke? Like that stupid Bride & Prejudice movie that was coming-out of Bollywood into the Hollywood market and made a mockery of the whole artform.
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