Fame X Synopsis/Articles: No Comments - Page 2

Fame X for Sophie

Sophie Chowdhry

HiTLIST's favourite star sublet Sophiya Chowdhry, better known as Sophie, now gets a slice of Fame. Literally.

She is now part of SAB's reality show, Fame X (the hip version of Sony's Fame Gurukul).

Sophie is not just hosting the show, but she will also play buddy to the contestants and give them a shoulder to cry on.

The host with the most, eh? SAB is looking at adding a dose of oomph to the show, hence Sophie is their host of choice.

Hmm.

http://www.mid-day.com/hitlist/2006/october/145154.htm

Four new shows!

Sahara One's Hare Kaanch Ki Choodiyan will give way to Solahh Singaar from next week. The Snigdha Akolkar starrer was one of the channel's strong properties, which is making a graceful exit at the right time. If Solahh... can live up to it's predecessor, it would have served a noble life. But Solahh, with its protagonist Meera, and those of its ilk on other channels, are living a very insipid life right now. Saathi Re's heroine puts one to sleep, and the myriad Betiyann (Paraya Dhan or otherwise) are yet to make a mark.

Which is why the new bahu of Kuch Kadvi, Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi, may turn out to be the surprise package post-Diwali. The sequel to Star Plus' Tu Tu Main Main, will feature the older saas and bahu team of Reema and Supriya, but the bahu gets her own bahu to add to their comic travails. This time on Star One, the sequel promises to be as good as the first, if the promos are to be relied upon.

It's another sequel on a sister channel, but in a different genre - Fame X will attempt to find fresh music talent from all corners of the country, with the X factor added. If it clicks, it would mean a fresh lease of life for Sab, which is yet to catch the fancy of the new generation, inspite of Left Right Left. Still, one wonders if a sequel to Fame Gurukul will work, when the first itself left behind no winners one can recall easily? Does anyone know where they are now?

One strong property that may do well is Sony's Bigg Boss, the adaptation of Big Brother. Even though the names of participating celebrities leaked by the media are nothing to drool over, the concept of a voyeuristic show should appeal to Indians.

http://india.indiantelevision.com/special/boxpopuli/y2k6/oct /boxpopuli25.htm

'Our reality shows so far have not been any good'

Daler Mehndi on his new role of judge on Fame X

Sapana Patil Poojary

Punjabi pop singer Daler Mehndi will be on the judges' panel on SAB's forthcoming reality show Fame X. "This show is all about finding the right candidate who has got loads of X factor", informs Daler.

The 'Dardi rub rub' singer then explains why he is the ideal judge. "When I started off as a singer in my career, I had no one to guide me on how to dress up properly and how to present myself. In fact, not many people know that I was born in Patna and sxpoke only in Hindi. Singing songs in Punjabi was quite an achievement! But over the time I've reached a point in my career where I've started getting offers from big Bollywood stars to perform with them. I think I will enjoy my new role".

Talking about Indian television's new crush - reality shows, Daler says, "Our reality shows so far have not been any good. Fame Gurukul was no exception. Firstly, the audiences do not vote carefully and even the winners of such shows (including Indian Idol and the ones on Zee TV) disappear soon, without a trace. Through Fame X, we intend to identify candidates with God-gifted talent and then give them the necessary push to make them truly famous."

About the controversies surrounding the 'judge species' of the reality world, he vows to be clean. "I will never compromise on the quality of music. There are some judges who sympathise with the contestants and end up giving biased judgements. If I do that, I know I'll be putting the future of the Indian music industry at stake," he says. 

When asked if he will maintain his signature style of his jewelled turban and shimmering sherwani, he smiles, "Well, let's see. Until today, I have myself worked on all my costumes. This time I may even hire a designer."

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/nmirror/mmpaper.asp?sectid=19&am p;am p;articleid=103020062212269310302006221215187

Palash Sen fooled

Ranjib Mazumder

Meanwhile, singer Palash Sen, who plays dean of faculty in Fame X, was fooled by a contestant during the auditions for the show yesterday. Shilpa Vaswani, one of the participants of the show had a showdown with Palash Sen as they argued over the term 'sexy'. While the girl kept insisting that it means beautiful, Palash disagreed. Later Shilpa challenged Palash that he had no option but to select her. She sang a Sindhi song that left Palsh spellbound.

The girl in question seemed pretty confident and she kept refusing to behave according to the judge's instructions. Later she performed another song well above the judge's expectation. Impressed with her singing calibre, Palash congratulated her and declared her selected.  Leaving Palash shocked, the girl then decided to quit the show. By that time, everyone was in splits and Palash was made to wear the 'Bakra' cap. Palash was later told that the girl actually works with the channel and this was just a practical joke.
 
"I know I have been fooled, but I must admit that Shilpa had everything going for her. Auditioning so much people makes me go blank sometimes, so I guess the channel guys tried to spice up the proceedings a bit," he said.

http://www.mumbaimirror.com/nmirror/mmpaper.asp?sectid=19&am p;am p;articleid=1030200622143065610302006221320531

SHOWBUZZ NETWORK

Fame X, the second season of Fame Gurukul is back on SAB. After auditioning over 10,000 aspirants across the country, Fame X is all set to rock the nation with the 16 talented aspirants set to showcase their singing talent coupled with X factor starting tonight at 10.00 p.m. The 16 contestants will live together at the prestigious 'Fame X Academy' where their raw talent will be tested by industry experts, who train them vocally. They will get to meet and perform alongside some of the music industry's biggest stars who also mentor the contestants. Meanwhile cameras follow the students' every move, 24/7. Each week on Friday, the individual contestants perform live and the judges will nominate four contestants for eviction. In the moment of high drama, the faculty will save one out of those four contestants and three still remain in the danger zone. Every Monday, fellow aspirants get a chance to vote in to get their fellow contestant back in the show while, two of the contestants remain in the danger zone.

Every Tuesday you will get to watch the reality episodes, behind the scenes drama, training sessions at the Fame Academy. Wednesday, two contestants in the danger zone are pitted against each other where they showcase their performances in the caf round. The voting lines close on Thursdays and the viewer's verdict is announced wherein one out of the two nominated contestants gets evicted from Fame X. Fame X will air every Monday-Thursday at 9.00 pm on SAB and every Friday at 10.00 pm.

http://www.cybernoon.com/DisplayArticle.asp?section=xtras&am p;am p;subsection=showbuzz&xfile=November2006_tvtrack_standar d326&child=tvtrack

   It seems to be the season of second innings for reality shows. Yet another popular reality show that attempts to give a platform to budding singers is back in a glitzy, power-packed avatar; the announcement of whose arrival was made in an equally glitzy style. The event saw Palash Sen, Daler Mehndi, choreographer Ganesh Hegde, Sowmya Raoh and Nikhil Chinappa in attendance. While Palash and Sowmya had to rush off to Karjat for a shoot, the others stayed on and enjoyed the brunch, and each other's company. Sophie Choudry was conspicuous by her absence, as she was in Dubai at a show.

• YOU'RE LUCKY IF IT'S YOUR B'DAY!
The event ended with a surprise treat for Ganesh, whose birthday it was that day.

• WANNA DO THE BALLE BALLE AGAIN? The highlight of the function was Daler Mehndi's presence; the original punjabi popstar made a public appearance after a long time.

SOWMYA (TIMES MUSIC)

Talent is something a singer is born with. But then it has to be honed with training, the invaluable "riyaz". Sowmya Rao is well blessed with talent. She can hold her own in Indian songs as well as in western music. But her lack of training shows strongly in many of the songs.

Like most other newcomers, she too has chosen to sing many remix numbers. Sowmya, daughter of Bangalore-based folk and devotional singer B.K.Sumitra, started singing on stage at the age of seven. In 2003, she won the Stardust Award as the best new singer for Laila Laila from Samay.

Not surprisingly, Laila Laila figures here as well. Then there are sensual and earthy songs such as Khoobsurat hai tu and Pyar hai. Add to that the sizzling Nazar na lagey and the list of her original songs stands exhausted. All others are "not from the original soundtrack", as it is mandatory to mention on the cover.

After completing her BA, Sowmya began working as a dubbing artist. Her playback career began while she was in Bangalore in 1993 following which she sang for films in Kannada, Telugu & Tamil. She has sung for the Telugu version of MAST, the Tamil version of RUN, KHUSHI, etc.

The title of the "Hottest Singer" was bestowed on Sowmya after the Telugu hit "Greekuveerudu" from the film "Ninna Pelladata" starring Tabu & Nagarjuna. The track ran for 20 consecutive weeks in the box office charts at No.1.

Credited with almost 200 songs down south, Sowmya Raoh has sung for well known Music Directors such as A R Rahman, Illyraja, Deva, Vidyasagar, Hamsalekha, etc. But Sowmya wanted to take up the challenge of singing for Bollywood and so she decided to move to Mumbai in 2001.

Her first entry into Bollywood was through Sandeep Chowta in JUNGLE with whom she had been working since Bangalore.

Since JUNGLE (Aiyyo Aiyyo Rama) she has sung for various films including PYAAR TUNE KYA KIYA (Rhounde Hai…), COMPANY (Aankhon Mein Rahon), DUM (Jeena, Dil Hi Dil Mein), BOLLYWOOD HOLLYWOOD (Sooni Hawa), EK AUR EK GYAARAH (Gungunaata Hai), SAMAY (Laila Laila, Zindagi), BUNTY AUR BABLY (Nach Baliye), FAMILY (Katra Katra), and some that are due for release.

Sowmya has also rendered her voice to non-film projects including Sandeep Chowta's Mitti & Now That's Sandeep Chowta, the remix hit "Hai Re Hai Mera Ghoongta", Dance Fever – Yeh Hai Reshmi Zulfon Ka Andhera to name a few.

Sowmya Raoh won the STARDUST AWARD in 2003 as the Best New Singer for " Laila Laila" from SAMAY.

As a performer, Sowmya has the capacity of mesmerizing her audience purely by her voice. Her range and versatility gives her the ability to perform and render songs of any genre be it soft ballads or hard core mass appeal item songs.
Sowmya believes that the industry is still waiting for the 'right' song for her.

PERFORMANCES:
Corporate shows: All over the country
Live shows: Australia, Europe, West Indies

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS :
STARDUST AWARDS 2003 - Best Female Playback Singer