We were thrilled to see Jyotirmayee Nayak win Indian Idol 16 last night. This popular show on Sony Liv is a favorite amongst many music lovers in India and abroad. In my family, over the years we have become major fans of this program. I can still remember the very first season of Indian Idol which was won by Abhijeet Sawant in 2004. It was a good to see him and many of the past winners of the show on July 4, 2026. It was a great gesture on the part of the show’s producers to bring them back for sheer nostalgia.
Now coming back to Season 16. When we saw Season 15 we felt the standard of the participants was very high. I now feel that Season 16 had an even more talented bunch of singers. Like last year, when Manasi Ghosh became the first female to ever win the title of Indian Idol, this year too a young lady won the title. I have always supported Jyotirmayee Nayak from her first introduction when she sang for cancer patients in their hospital wards as a music therapist.
I was thrilled that Tanishk Shukla was the first runner up. He richly deserved the title. When the winner was given Rs 20 lakhs as prize money, the organizers should have given him- the first runner up Rs 10 lakhs or even Rs 7.5 lakhs. Instead he was given Rs 5 lakhs- the same amount as the second runner up, Manraj Veer Singh. What then is the difference between the second and third place. Strange! For the record, Anshika Chonkar and Suhail Sufi were declared 4 and 5 and given Rs 3 lakhs each. I personally felt that Anshika should have been No 3 instead of Manraj but that is my view!
A few thoughts about Myscmme Bosu. We really rooted for her in Season 15 and were sad to see her get eliminated in the Top 7 stage. But this did not in my opinion justify her getting a wild card entry at a late stage of the show when participants had fought hard to reach the Top 10. I recognize the value of a wild card entry in a reality show. If at all they had to have one, they should have given a chance to someone like Shreenidhi Shastry or Sughanda Date from this season. Why go back to the previous season? It is like No 10 of Wimbledon last year being given a wild card to join the top 8 of this year’s Wimbledon!! This defies all logic.
To her credit, Myscmme did sing very well . Here’s my next point: the way she was eliminated should not be done to anyone ever again. Firstly, when they had seven participants, they should have eliminated two and got the Top 5. It was very disappointing to see the way she was eliminated from the Top 6. The judges could have heard all six sing, conferred amongst themselves and then named the Top 5.
Lastly, guys, we enjoy listening to songs but 82 episodes is just too long in this day and age! We felt it was being dragged on and on perhaps because there was no dearth of sponsors!
Congratulations to all the participants, especially the winners. I am sure Jyotirmayee, Tanishk, Manraj, Anshika, and Sulhail will shine in the years to come. My best wishes to all of them!
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