I’m usually quite critical of reality shows in general and when Zee Marathi SaReGaMaPa L’il Champs was being telecast everyday, I pretty much had the same reaction. Over the past few weeks, my watching frequency increased and I actually enjoyed watching some of the performances and repertoire of these young kids.
As this competition drew to a close, five contestants were vying for top honours, each one at their very best, and there was a general feeling among people for the award to be shared among all five. However, as we watched the finals or ‘maha antim pheri’ on Sunday, there was a palpable sense of disappointment, firstly because the songs were hardly up to expectations and certainly not in sync with the kids’ voices, and then Kartiki Gaikwad was announced as the winner.
No doubt she was good, but it seemed a bit unfair, considering two others – Arya Ambekar and Prathamesh Laghate were far superior and had a wider range. The organisers of the show could so easily have kept public sentiment in mind and declared all of them as joint winners. It will be hard on young Kartiki now, especially with tongues wagging and she could’ve certainly done without this.