Did Indian Idol just save itself?

Meet the new Wah, wah of Hindi. It's called mindblowing. You use it like this: MINDBLOWING!! The gurus on SaReGaMaPa do it all the time. So do the judges and hosts on Indian Idol 3.

Whatever happened to words like umda or uttam? Is shabaash a thing of the past? This makes me sad because not only would I pay a lot of money to hear Udit Narayan say uttam! but I also think mindblowing is a particularly annoying and meaningless word.

Last week's Indian Idol 3 was significant because a decision was made that might well have saved the show itself. Still smarting from the comic win of the amiable but wobbly singer Sanjay Acharya last year, Idol was now faced with the ridiculous prospect of Suhit Gosain entering the final thirteen. For a while Alisha Chinai fought the good fight for him. And his presence spelled doom for Padmanav - who was the best remaining singer - because the judges picked a compromise. They chose Ankita Mishra, purveyor of several resurgent performances.


Well, this saves Idol from becoming potentially irrelevant. So that's progress.

On the other hand, the ubiquitous product placement on the show is wearing on me. Yes, yes, I understand bills have to be paid. And I don't mind the lingering shots of the Maruti Suzukis when the judges arrive, or loading the girls up on scooters or even the rather sneaky shampoo tie-in. Even the cross-marketing for other shows is not too bad.

But Zayed Khan's shameless shilling for his movie in the guise of a "special appearance" was cringe-inducing. Mini Mathur - please put your foot down - it dings your overall fabulousity to be partaking in this nonsense.

And finally, I enjoyed Sunidhi Chauhan's performance. She is an excellent template for an Indian Idol. Someone who broke through by sheer force of presence and challenged the traditional squeaky singing of female playback singers. Perhaps most importantly, Sunidhi's growth as a singer has been astonishing. She's added range, sweetness and clarity to her voice without losing any of that full-throat timber. And on the show, she showed us what an Indian Idol must aspire to be.

Uttam!