Fame Kudi Sophie Chowdry described the elimination round perfectly by saying, "Not only 'X'treme talent but 'X'treme emotion!"
Today's guest judge,
bakra specialist Cyrus Broacha, came in on behalf of MTV. To a question—what is his definition of the 'X' factor—he said it was something indescribable.
Neeti, fondly called 'Mirchi from Mumbai', was the first contestant to perform the song
Dilwalon ke dil ka karaar lutane and received smashing reactions from the crowd and the judges alike. Cyrus asked her what was the capital of UP and, in the same spirit, Neeti answered that as far as she was concerned, it was "Cyrus"!
Rohit, with a big plaster on his foot, sang
Sathiya, veliya and was asked by Ganesh if he was unhappy because he felt it showed in Rohit's performance. Daler told him that "
besurapan" would not be tolerated from a singer like him.
Banjo, the Bengali
babu, sang
Ek ho gaye hum aur tum. Daler advised him to sing in
sur. Ganesh asked him to express himself better. Cyrus said that he fell in love with him, but not before clarifying that he is a heterosexual.
Marwadi
tadka, Priyanka from Jaipur, sang
Jara jara bahakata hai. Daler said performance "
bedhadak hai" but "
niche vale jagah sur nahi lag raha hai". Ganesh encouraged her by saying that sometimes people make mistakes, but she should not take it to heart.
Andandrupa, the drama queen, sang
Tanaha tanaha yahan pe jina. Ganesh said that "
usme adaen bahot hai". Cyrus asked who snores the most to which she named Arunima. Of course it was done in good humour.
Punjab
da munda, Sammy sang
Dil se re. Ganesh's compliment was "mind-blowing". Daler said that when he sings "
Dil se re tab dil ko chu jata hai". Sammy ended his performance with his trademark "Ho"!
Alok sang
Jo hai albela from
Kisna. Ganesh encouraged him by saying that he is a good singer despite what everyone says. Cyrus mentioned specially that being himself was his X factor.
Daler told Alok of his mistakes and Dean Palash Sen immediately rushed to his student's rescue. Daler had a small argument with Palash about the quality of singing, but since the point of argument was the student's welfare, it was settled amicably.
Vidhan sang
Aa jaa re from
Lagaan. Ganesh said it was his favourite song because he had picturised it. But he wasn't happy about the way Vidhan sang it. Daler said "Academy
ke sheron mut ho dheron". When Cyrus said he had to get rid of his nervousness, Vidhan explained that he did not like being talked to about his talking problem. Cyrus joked that even Bollywood's King, Shah Rukh Khan, has a stuttering problem (he was referring to one of Shah Rukh's many roles).
Aditya, Delhi's rock star, sang the classic Aamir Khan song
Papa Kahte Hai. Ganesh said he wasn't performing for all the audience. Daler said the X factor was very much present, but "
sur ka khyal rahe". Cyrus pulled his leg by pretending that he was angry and pulled a
bakra on him. Palash mentioned that he shouldn't depend upon the X factor alone and prove to the world that he was a good singer, too.
Chulbuli Jyotika sang the sensual
Aap jaisa koi. Daler asked her to make sure she sang in the correct beat. Cyrus cracked a joke on her dress, but Jyotika gave an apt reply.
Sowmya liked her performance and Dean Palash exclaimed, "
Zakaaas!".
Rehan showed his comic side by changing his voice and acting as if he was a little kid. But when he sang
Jara dekho kaun aa gaya hai from
Don there was no trace of any childishness in his performance. Ganesh, though, felt that for a powerful singer like Rehan, it was a poor song choice. But Dean Palash made Daler admit that Rehan sang better than the original singer.
When Arunima sang
Chupake se raat ki chadar tale, everyone, especially the male contestants, enjoyed the performance, a fact which didn't escape Ganesh's keen eye. When Cyrus learned that Arunima had been an airhostess, he asked her to sing the flight announcement. Arunima rose up to the occasion by improvising and sang it so beautifully that everyone was left speechless.
Rakesh has had a tough time leaving behind his wife and two-year-old daughter. His song
Maaraa jiya re reflected his emotions for his family. But Daler asked him to not let that be a deterrent as it could affect his performance adversely.
When Ritu from Jabalpur sang
Aa bhi jaa ae subhaha she got the least criticism from Daler which in itself was a compliment. Ganesh thanked Dean Palash for pulling her back from the Danger Zone last time on which Dean Palash, happy by the improvement Ritu had shown, assured everyone that she wouldn't be in the Danger Zone hereafter.
Ashutosh sang
Mohe tu rang de basanti, which was originally sung by Daler Mehandi. Ganesh was tickled pink by that fact and said that to accept a challenge like that was Ashutosh's X factor. Daler was very appreciative, too. But then he asked Ashutosh to sing in the original 'patti', which is quite high. Ashutosh made an attempt, but wasn't very good. Daler then took the step even higher showing everyone the stuff real singers are made of. It was a stunning and revealing performance from the great singer and everyone including Dean Palash Sen gave a standing ovation.
This time the judges formed four groups out of the contestants, declaring that one of the four groups would have to go to the Danger Zone.
Banjo, Alok, Sammy and Priyanka formed one group. The second group contained Arunima, Ritu, Rehan and Aditya. While Ashutosh, Neeti and Rakesh formed the third group, the fourth group had Jyotika, Anandrupa, Rohit and Vidhan. It was the fourth group that the judges selected to go into the Danger Zone.
Dean Palash Sen and Sowmya Rao were not happy about the inclusion of the two girls, whom they thought had performed very well. But rules are rules and so they had to respect the judge's decision. Dean Palash, after a long discussion with Sowmya, finally decided to get Anandrupa back into the Academy.
The fate of the remaining three will be decided on the coming Monday.
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