competition

Dance India Dance Season 2, February 19 – 20

Who will be the four lucky wild card entrants? Will the popular Dharmesh Sir be back into the competition? Our bird says the lucky four are : Dharmesh, Amrita, Jack and Saajan.

Watch the telecast in Zee tonight to see if our bird is right or not.

Visit us again later for the complete detail on this week’s episode.

February 19

It was the suspense episode where we waited patiently to hear the results of the final 4 participants who will form part of the Top 12.

The show started with the dance performances of all the 8 participants who formed part of the wild entry.

The first performance was of Parvez & Altaf from Geeta ki Gang and they danced on Dhan tena dhan from Kaminey in hip hop style, followed by a performance in Freestyle by Dharmesh and Amrita again from Geeta ki Gang. They both danced on Mere Haath Mein song. It was a different style for Dharmesh altogether and he did his best to make the performance beautiful.

After these first 4 performances, the results were announced for the 2 participants and yes! Dharmesh and Amrita are now the part of the TOP 12 who will fight for the top slot.

Bhavna & Saajan from Remo Ke Rangeeley performed on Aaja Gufayun mein aa and it was a mix of freestyle & contemporary. Again, it was totally a new forte for Saajan but he did pretty well. This was followed by a very sweet romantic performance from Jack & Vandana from Terrance ki Toli on the song Dil Kya Kare; it was American Waltz. Vandana looked really pretty and again Jack was a surprise package as waltz was again a new style for him.

Now was the announcement of the next 2 participants who would form part of the top 12; Jack and Saajan are in the top 12 now.

Mr.Muscle Tough move of the Day went to Parvez & Altaf.

Over all a good episode, even the old 8 chosen ones also performed and it was a power packed performance.

Feb 20^th is going to be a Maha Episode and by trailers it looked to be something cool to watch for.

Till then keep dancing…

February 20

I believe that now all episodes of DID – 2 will be most awaited in themselves since the voting has started.

All the top 12 have now started competing for the “Sunhari Taqdeer ki Topi” in full josh! Today’s performances brought out the best of Mentors as well.

Nikkitasha(Tashu) from Remo Ke Rangeeley was the first to perform, and even if you can’t look at her performance, viewers can simply look at her face and enjoy themselves, she looked ravishing in blue outfit. She performed on Jane kya Jaaneman which was Indian Contemporary Dance Style. It was a soothing performance and she is really good at classical dance steps.

Saajan from Remo Ke Rangeeley performed on Paisa Paisa Karti Hai which was hip hop and b boying dance style; Shashank from Remo’s team performed on Dil Ko Tumse Pyar Hua in Hip Hop Dance Style. Punit from Remo’s team performed on Kurbaan Hua and it was Aerial Contemporary Style.

From Terrance ki Toli it was Jack, Kruti, Amar & Shakti – Jack performed on Aahun-Aahun & Mari Pant bhi Sexy in Hip Hop & freestyle. It was really a cute dance performance, he was styled as a radio station and he is picking up fast and really good. Kruti’s Bharatnatyam Style was mind blowing and she performed Draupdi Vastraharan. She was just too good and awesome; enacting 5 different characters was not only difficult but tricky too. However, she did very well and justified the performance. Amar performed on Mahi-Mahi in Contemporary Dance Style and he used a big wheel as a prop. Shakti performed on the song Naach in Contemporary Dance Style and a cage was used as a prop to enhance the performance. Over all Terrance ki Toli’s performance was cool.

Geeta ki Gang – Binny looked so beautiful and bollywood dance style suits her so much and her smile is something to enjoy for and she plays so well with her expressions. She performed on Dhoom Tana Tan in Bollywood dance style along with one of the traditional dance style where she used a head gear which had pots & candles to be balanced on head. This portion was little tacky as she appeared to be conscious but her jhtakas and all were marvelous. Amrita was super!! She performed on Teri Ore in Aerial Contemporary Dance Style and she is just too good & fantastic. She is actually a delight to watch when she performs. Dharmesh performed on the song Premika Ne Pyaar Se in Hip Hop & freestyle. He looked cute in the get up of a Pandit! Again he is a delight to watch, you can just watch him again & again. Kishore performed on Aaya Hai Raja in Huli Kali Dance Style.

Overall this episode was cool, and I believe that now on the standards of performances will keep going high by each episode since now the voting has started so they will leave no stone unturned.

Performers to watch for – Tashu & Saajan from Remo Ke Rangeeley; Jack, Kruti & Shakti from Terrance ki Toli; Amrita & Dharmesh from Geeta ki Gang. It is not that others are no good, but all these have some or the other edge over others. Voting is open till Monday

So India Keep dancing & Keep Voting.

Dance India Dance Season 2, February 12 – 13

February 12

I guess, this episode was most awaited as after this one the voting starts. The attraction of this episode was the competition amongst the participants who were eliminated in earlier episodes and those who were on standby from Grand Master’s side. All in all there were 16 participants, 10 were those who were eliminated in various episodes, 4 were standbys and 2 were Masters’ Choice (not sure in which episode it was told!).

The show began with a bang  and for a change the performances were far better than the regular episodes. The Masters were looking good for a change, not sure what Remo did to himself or was it the reflection of yellow color on his face but he looked lot fair and cool than his earlier dress up! (I hope that was not the effect of fair & handsome, hee heee). A piece of mind for Geeta, please don’t deck yourself up unnecessarily, you looked simple, elegant and beautiful earlier so be like that. I have kind of given up on Terrance, I guess for a change he can do away with his bandanas and weird get ups. I am left wondering after each episode as to how he would look in a simple jeans and T-Shirt! Never mind that, at least he was better off yesterday. No comments on Grand Master’s dress, I guess he needs to be dressed according to the size of chair in which he sits, else he will be invisible! Soumya looked pretty though.

Ok, coming back to the main agenda – the performances…..

All 16 contestants were split into teams and were assigned to 3 Mentors.

It began with Geeta’s Gang – Altaf Nadmal and Amrita >>> they danced Cha Cha Cha on the song Zoobie Doobie

Next were Altaf Bhatt and Farhina from Terrance ki Toli >>>> they performed on Pehli Baar Mohabbat ki hai from Kaminey. Farhina was awesome in her moves and expressions. Altaf was totally eaten up by her and she was so energetic that no one would have bothered to watch Altaf.

Melvin and Bhavna from Remo ke Rangeeley >>>> they performed on prem ki naiyya from Ajab Prem ki Gajab Kahani – Bollywood Style, nothing much to say about them (actually I can’t even recall the performance).

Jack and Ameeth from Terrance ki Toli >>>>> they did lyrical hip-hop on Saali Khushi. It was just too cool a performance and they were good. They were the first in the day to get the grand salute from Dada. They also won the Lux Khoobsurat Performance of the Day.

After this Terrance and Remo also did lyrical hip-hop and it was a delight to watch both of them. They should perform more to increase the TRPs of the show.

Parvez & Vandana from Terrance ki Toli >>>>> Contemporary Dance on Sau dard Hain; it was a soft and melodious performance, Parvez was better than Vandana. Let us see what happens.

Saajan, Meenu and Naresh from Remo ke Rangeelay >>>>> Freestyle on Aankhon mein Teri from Om Shanti Om; it was not a kind of Remo but then it was cute to watch. The performance had Mithun Da standing up to salute the performers. Saajan and Naresh did some good B – boying and stunts at the request of Dada after the performance and that one was better than the regular performance lol.

Last one was most awaited (at least by me); Dharmesh, Tina and Shruti from Geeta ki Gang >>>>> it was a freestyle on a song Rasiya where 2 females are vying for Dharmesh’s attention and how he keeps himself in control. May be I am little biased towards Dharmesh or whatever; it was the coolest performance for me. Those 2 females were good (so I assume ‘cos it was overall a good performance) but no one can beat Dharmesh for sure. I am still wondering as to why he was eliminated. The performance also got a salute from Mithun Da.

In today’s episode, each mentor will choose a couple and put them on Junta ki Kasauti for best 12 and here the public voting will come into play. Out of these 16 participants, only 4 are needed to make it to best 12. This means that only 6 best performances will be put for Public Voting ( this is what I interpreted from the show); other 10 will be out in that event and out of those 6 only 4 needs to be picked up for Top 12. I hope that Dharmesh makes it to top 12.

Ginger Chai pick of the day – Rasiya by Geeta ki Gang followed closely by Saali Khushi from Terrance ki Toli

Ginger Chai pick on the performers – Dharmesh, Ameeth, Parvez (it could be a close tie up between Ameeth and Jack). Amrita, Farhina, Meenu but then it is really going to be tough for mentors’ as girls were better than boys.

So India Keep watching and Keep Dancing.

Feb 13, 2010

Finally, the most awaited and happening event started in DID Season – 2 – the public voting.

All the 16 participants who were part of the Chance Pe Dance episode were standing on the stage in the anticipation of being chosen as the Best Performer of the day so that they can be on Junta ki Kasauti.

The first in line were from Remo ke Rangeeley. Remo chose Bhavna over Meenu and Saajan over Naresh and Melvin. Bhavna performed on ‘Baawra Mann’ and it was contemporary dance style. Saajan performed on ‘Kivve Mukhdhe ko’; it was b-boying & hip hop dance form. The highlight was that Saajan was never a trained dancer but he learnt b-boying by watching.

Vandana was picked up by Terrance over Farhina and she performed on ‘Tere Ishq Mein’ in Semi Classical dance form and it was a good performance. Jack beat everyone in Terrance’s Team and he performed on ‘Tanhayee from Dil Chahta Hai’ and it was a contemporary dance style. It was a mind blowing performance and he was really really cool which earned him a salute as well from Grand Master. He was so sweet when he said that neither in Norway nor in India he is considered Indian.

There is something so good about all the participants this year, they are good in what they do i.e. Dance and they are open and honest unlike last year where the attitudes ran high. So even if the dance performances are bad, the performers are themselves a delight to watch.

Dharmesh and Amrita were chosen from Geeta ki Gang and Dharmesh performed on ‘Kitna Pyara Vaada/Aloo Chat – it was hip hop. And man! He was just awesome (can’t help it but I like him sooooooooo very much). Dharmesh was applauded by all 3 mentors. Amrita was wonderful and she did contemporary on ‘Kaise Bataiye from Ajab Prem Ki Gajab Kahani’. She was just too good and even made Grand Master salute her, her performance justified Mithun’s decision to keep her as a stand by.

The surprise package of the episode was entry of additional two performers on Junta ki Kasauti and they were to be chosen by Grand Master. He chose Altaf Nadlam from Geeta ki Gang and Parvez from Terrance ki Toli. Altaf did contemporary dance on ‘Ya Rabba’ and he was good, I guess this must be his best performance so far. Parvez did lyrical hiphop on ‘Dil Ibadat’. He also tried giving his best and he is more of entertainer so the performance was entertaining.

Saajan won “Mr.Muscle tough move of the Day”.

Yesterday’s episode was too good when it came on performances; I just wish that they keep the same tempo and quality in all future episodes. Also, all the 8 competitors who are already part of Top 12 need to be very careful as new additions are power packed performers.

No comments on Judges get up today, not that it was not noted. I wish Terrance could just do away with his turbans! Geeta Ma, the bun doesn’t suit you and please do away with those dhinchak bangles and those big rings! You look so beautiful when you keep your hair loose and dressed simply. (So much for no comments, huh!)….oh yes! Soumya looked ravishing in red saree, God she is so fair, I wonder how!

Voting lines are open till Monday 10 a.m. I believe.

Ginger Chai picks – Its bit tough to pick as all performances were good. The writer is openly biased for Dharmesh so he should be there in top 12, Amrita should also come, if we go by performances. Jack and Altaf were no less.

The wait will be over next week, so India keep waiting, keep voting and keep dancing.

Finish the Story Edition 1: Story

     

     It was a warm night, neither humid nor too hot – in fact just right for a stroll. But it was 11.30 pm , not late by metro standards. But in the suburbs where the company township was situated, it was way too late. The highway was about ½ km away  and occasionally the hum of heavy vehicles passing by, could be heard but other than that , it was quiet with only the chirping of the cicadas in the background.

    Ranjan hurried along the small lanes of the VIP quarters , isolated and further away, in the moonless night, frequently giving furtive glances around him. He seemed tense but strode ahead with purposeful steps, until he reached a particular bungalow. He stopped in front of it and stared at it for a few minutes. The senior level executives were issued spacious bungalows with lawns while the junior and the mid level executives were assigned one bedroom and two bedroom apartments, a fact that did not go well with them , after all the divide was quite unreasonable they thought. But this was not the issue at the moment. He was here for his own personal reasons…

       It was quiet and dark on the other side of the wall. One notable thing was that the street lights were few and far between and most of them were not working.  The spot, where he was standing was shrouded in darkness, which suited him just fine.. There was no sign of any activity inside the rooms of the freshly whitewashed bungalow of Mr. Gupta. Only a dim red light flickered through the curtains of a room, most probably the master bedroom. He scratched his head and tried to remember if Mr. Gupta had a dog and, No ! No dogs, no watchman., so nothing to be afraid of. Yes! Everything was going according to plan. Mr. Gupta was out with the executive board members in the Company Club house entertaining the overseas client trying to secure the coveted deal, which meant that he will not be back before 2 am. That left him with enough time to accomplish whatever he had come for.

       He gave another glance towards his left and right and also the two bungalows flanking it , but all was silent. It would be a fool who would be out at that hour leaving the comfort of a bed and wife to roam about here and there…. He smiled at the private joke. He touched the gate gingerly. It was an iron gate. He tried to move it but it gave a low audible creak and he stopped.

“Damn!Asha , my sweet little fool. Why does she have to wish for near impossible things.” He could not afford to make any noise. He was dressed in track pants and a rubber soled shoes . He also shockingly realized that he did not have his cell phone nor any identity proof with him in case of an emergency.

    He decided that the best and fastest approach inside would be to climb over the low brick wall.

   “ Asha! How you bewitch me!” He sighed, “All for love!” The brick wall  was not high  but it still disrupted the normal functioning of his 37 year old  body for a few seconds, after he climbed over and jumped onto the other side clumsily. But thankfully the grass was thick which carpeted both his fall and the noise. He panted. His heart was racing at 100 beats/min ( more out of anxiety) and coupled with that he experienced an alien sensations gurgling deep inside his stomach. After all this was the first time he trespassed someone else’s property.

      He nearly gave up and retreated , but then he calmed himself , took some deep breaths and sat on the soft grass for a few moments.

     “ No snakes, I hope” he thought peering in the darkness. He had to do it today. He was not going to get a better opportunity to come here.

     His hate quotient multiplied, knowing his nemesis Gupta, deserved every bit of it. Mr.Gupta fitted the description of a monster boss to a Tee. Ranjan first came across him eight months back when Mr.Gupta was transferred from their Bareilly unit. The dislike was mutual and the Monster made his life miserable. Finally after requesting the administration and literally prostrating himself in front of them, he was transferred to another unit ,but the scars remained till date . It took all his patience not to physically assault his boss.  He used to often wonder how could anyone tolerate Mr.Gupta. How did his wife and children cope with him? He knew that Gupta had two sons aged 9 and 6 years. What did they think of him? Was this monster a normal person? He did not seem to have any friends or associates either. The only admirable thing about him though was that he had not seen  anyone else with a greener thumb than his. He kept an impeccable garden and was the subject of envy among the others.

        He looked at his watch . He had sat there lost in thoughts for almost 15 minutes. He stood up, smiling , he turned towards the verandah!…

            “Asha,! Its your birthday and I want you to be happy”.he chanted in his thoughts. He felt the air cooler comparatively, on his way back home. Was it so late? He again looked at his watch and then his eyes went to the ‘ package ‘ he was holding. Tenderly , he shifted the banana leaf holding ‘it’ slightly. He smiled , pleased with himself his face glowing with  satisfaction. He did not feel the least bit exhausted after his nightly caper. His step was light and springy.

     He smiled again when he reached his apartment block, but his smile disappeared when he saw the watchman napping in  a chair near the lift. If he was seen , it would give him away  instantly and there would be a big scandal. As it is, it was a small town and things get to spread fast over here – be it news, rumors, fire or illness.

    “What do I do now?” he thought shifting restlessly. There was no other way out.

    He had to take the stairs, but for that he had to walk through the well lit lobby and down the corridor. He looked up at the window of his apartment on the third floor.

   “ All for love”! He sighed and he tip-toed towards the staircase… He gave a last timid glance at the watchman before disappearing up the stairs. “Thank God! He is asleep” and stifled a chuckle at the irony. He started climbing the stairs slowly . sprinting was not an option, lest he woke up the entire household!. Panting, he reached the door of his flat. He took out his key and silently opened the door. When his eyes adjusted in the darkness, he walked past the drawing room to the bedroom. He stared at his wife from the door. She was still sleeping . She looked so innocent and angelic in the dim light. He walked in , sat beside her and touched her cheeks tenderly. She stirred in her sleep . He was still holding the ‘package’ and he moved towards the bathroom, when, she woke up.

    She was fully awake within seconds.

   “Ranjan? Where had you been so long?”

    He froze and then turned around slowly- smiling broadly.

( Story to be completed by the Finish the Story contestants)

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Terms & Conditions:

• You can complete the story with minimum 50 words and maximum 500 words.
• Participants should give an appropriate title for the story.
• Read the Contest Format . Any participants deviating from the format will be automatically excluded from the contest.
• The last date for entry submission is February 28, 12 A.M (Indian Standard Time)
• Voting shall commence on March 1. Voting will close on March 5.
• Each voter can vote for maximum 3 entries.
• After the voting closes ONLY the participants can put their entry along with the story in their respective blogs. Entries of non-bloggers will be published in Cafe GingerChai along with the contestant’s name.
• March 7  – The short listed candidates will be announced.
• March 10 – The winning entry as selected by our chief judge will be declared.
• Due to logistical cost constraint, the prizes will be shipped only within India to the address given by you. Ofcourse, we will keep the prizes safe in a locker if you reside abroad and till you visit India and contact us.
• Members of GingerChai author panel are not allowed to participate in the contest. Sorry guys but we will have a contest for ourselves in future.

Format:

Step 1: Register in www.cafe.gingerchai.com with your name and enroll your blog (non – bloggers can skip the blog enroll option but registration is mandatory) To register in Cafe GingerChai Click HERE

Step 2: Sending the entry : You can either mail the entry to sip@gingerchai.com along with the name that you have registered in cafe. Alternatively, you can login to cafe GingerChai and write the post from the dashboard. The post you write will be saved as draft.

Step 3: On March 1, all the entries will be published in Cafe. To make the voting unbiased – we shall allot a CODE to each entries and hide the name and identity of the writers.

Step 4: Once the voting closes, participants with blogs should publish their entry in their respective blog and the same will be removed from the cafe. Entries of the non-bloggers will be published in Cafe along with the contestant’s name.

Step 5: Based on the voting result – 5 entries will be shortlisted.

Step 6: From the shortlisted entries , 3 entries will be selected by GingerChai author panel.

Step 7: The winning entry from the 3 selected entries will be judged by a chief judge ( For the first edition, we have C V Murali the author of the books dreams die young and Prisoners of hate as the chief judge)

Prize:

First Prize:  A Gift hamper from Prince Textiles.

Second Prize: A CD gift set from Buzzers.

Third Prize: Prisoners of hate novel by C V Murali.

 

Dance India Dance Season 2, January 29 – 30

January 29

Amitabh  Bachchan graces this episode. I expected him to promote the now running Rann movie but instead he was promoting his forthcoming teen patti.

Today’s performances were inspired by Big B’s movies.

First to hit the dance floors are Punit and Bhavana. They tangoed for Big B’s song Apne tu Jaise.

Parvez and Shakti from Terrence camp did a modern contemporary take on the song Main Yahan tu Wahan. Shakti excelled yet again this time teaming up with Parvez.

Geeta’s trio Binny, Dharmesh and Kishore did a breathtaking aerobics on an aerial cube for the black theme. With Binny blindfolded throughout the dance sequence it was a difficult but neatly executed performance.

Kunwar and Kruti from Terrence team did what Terrence claimed Bhojpuri salsa for the song nain lad jave. It was a good performance barring few mistakes in the lifts.

The final performance of the day came from Remo’s Meenu, Shashank and Nikkitasha, who did a Hip Hop for a medley of don and zarra zarra. I tend to feel Remo’s choreography has not mustered punch till now in this season.

Performance of the day: Shakti and Parvez. There is no second doubt about it.

January 30

Nominations and eliminations day.

Remo nominates Meenu and Punit to perform.

Meenu performs for a Tamil movie number in a typical south Indian filmy dance style. Again a let down by Remo.

Next came a real good performance from Remo camp by Punit who danced for Bheegi bheegi pepping it up with a light trick. A neat, clean dance.

Terrence springs a surprise by putting forward Shakti and Kunwar.

Shakti wows with her sexy performance.

Surprise surprise Geeta throws Dharmesh yet again along with Binny into elimination nominations.

Dharmesh dons the traditional Theyyam dance form costume , his movements are restricted by the heavy weight costume for no fault of his. Blame it on Geeta for choosing this concept for him.

Binny hip hopped for chance pe dance song.

And those two eliminated are …

From girls – Meenu

And from Boy’s believe it or not – Dharmesh.

But am sure Dharmesh will be back in wild card entry. Common he definitely deserves to be in Top 3 atleast.

Dance India Dance Season 2, January 22-23

January 22

Salman Khan is the chief guest and it’s no guess that it has to do with the release of his film Veer.

So the contestants are predictably very excited with the star actor watching their performance.

First to come to the floors Shashank and Bavana from Remo’s team. They do a contemporary dance for the song Tu jahan

Dharmesh, Binny and Kishore from Geeta’s gang does a salsa for the song chori chori. It was quiet entertaining and nice.

Nikitasha and Punit does a moon act for the song chand chupa. Punit lifts Nikitasha effortlessly and an ok performance. I expected more from Nikki but was an average performance.

From Terrence team came a hilarious performance by Vandana, Kruti and Parvez with Parvez sporting a fat boy look. An entertaining performance.

Shakti yet again gave a fluid performance along with Kunwar for the Salman-Aishwarya classic song Ankhon khi

Naresh and Meenu did a free style dance for the song dil bole hadippa. An average performance and I feel Naresh will feel the heat soon.

Performance of the day (selected by Salman Khan) : Dharmesh, Binny and Kishore.

January 23

Yet another nomination and time for eliminations.

Terrence nominates Parvez and Vandana.

Geeta nominates Binny and Dharmesh. Really loved what Dharmesh did with balloons as props.

Remo nominates Nikkitasha and Naresh.

The contestants eliminated this week: Vandana and Naresh. I expected Naresh to go but it was sad Vandana has to leave but then the show goes on…