Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Nirali Fozdar on threshold of Fame in Indian Idol 4

Singing sensation on threshold of fame

Ahmedabad girl Nirali Fozdar advances to top-11 of TV show Indian Idol 4.

Nirali Fozdar, 20, became the first Gujarati to reach the top-11 in the search for Indian Idol-4. A commerce graduate from Ahmedabad, her parents talked to AM about their daughter.

The journey till here has not been so easy for Nirali. Her father Shrenikbhai says, “For over 15 months, she used to leave for Mumbai every Wednesday, learn music on Thursday and return back to Ahmedabad the same day.” Her hard work seems to have paid off.

Her mother Urmi Fozdar says, “I used to be very anxious when she would travel alone. It was tiring for her and she could not sleep well.” She adds, “But her passion for music never allowed us to stop her. Her music teachers also appreciated her determination and punctuality.”

Shrenik says, “She used to board the train from Ahmedabad in the night and reach Mumbai by 6 in the morning. There, she would take a local train to Dadar, then get on to a taxi to reach Walkeshwar to her aunt’s place. Soon after that, she had to rush to Pt Gautam Mukherjee’s music class in Bandra at sharp 9 am.” He adds, “From there, she would go to another class at 11 am.” She went to the two classes to culture her voice.

Her mother says, “Her potential for singing was noticed as early as nursery school by her teacher at Sharda Mandir Shishu Mandir.” She called Urmiben and told her that they felt that Nirali’s needs to be nurtured. Thus began her journey. She learnt music from Devendrabhai Pattani, who got her to admitted to Akhil Bhartiya Gandharva Mahavidyalaya Mandal.

After winning accolades at college level, she had been awarded first prize in duet singing by FM channel Radio Mirchi. She also did brilliantly at the Ahmedabad inter-club singing competition and won the best female performance among all the clubs.

Then came Indian Idol. Her father says, “The auditions took place in June. At that time, she was learning music in Mumbai while doing her MCom.” Her sister Viraj, a high court lawyer, adds, “Nirali has been selected in the final 11 girls, after four were eliminated on Saturday.”“She has been in Mumbai since August 30, and we get to see her only on TV,” says Urmiben.

Does the family has reservation about reality television? The father says, “Nirali is a strong girl and very rooted. She has made up her mind that she won’t compromise on the outfits she wears.” Currently, the family is busy promoting the girl as the next idol.