Farhan Akhtar On Indian Idol Junior to Promotes BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG 

Farhan Akhtar, one has to expect surprises galore! This was apparent when he made a stopover on the sets of Sony Entertainment Television's popular singing reality show Indian Idol Junior to promote his upcoming flick Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and gave everyone a 'milky' break!

Farhan Akhtar made an appearance along with director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra on the show and was seen at his funny best. Be it pulling Judge Shekhar, Shreya or Vishal's leg or tickling show host Karan Wahi's funny bone, he did it all! But the icing on the cake was his spontaneous milky jig, in store for Indian Idol Junior singing sensations, judges and hosts - Karan and Mandira.

Director Omprakash Mehra let know all contestants about Milkha Singh's life struggle and the fact that he loved drinking milk. And that was it! To everyone's surprise, Farhan called for a doodhwala bhaiyya with a huge milk container in order to feed milk to all.

The connect was Milkha Singh's intense fondness for milk. Show judge Shreya however turned him down by declining to guzzle it. She was heard saying "I hate drinking milk. I have only drunk milk once in my childhood."

That's not all, show host Karan Wahi couldn't help but taking the entire container to where Farhan was seated and requesting the spot boys for a straw so that Farhan can drink it all.

And if you thought the fun ended here, Farhan captivated all by putting his dancing shoes on and tapping on the song Zinda from one of his flicks only to be joined by a contestant Eman Choudhury who danced with him on another song.

Overwhelmed by the talent of Indian Idol Junior Farhan, in fact, tweeted about his experience with the kids and said "What a treat the Indian Idol juniors are...Pure talent. So lucky to have heard them live. Best wishes to them all."

Looks like after Salman Khan Idol Juniors have found another fan in Farhan Akhtar.

Catch the fun with Farhan Akhtar only on Indian Idol Junior on Sunday June 30, 8.30pm only on Sony Entertainment Television

Indian Idol Junior - Shreya says eliminating kids is the toughest part about being on the show.

Rough and tough Vishal Dadlani and melodious beauty Shreya Ghoshal ended up in tears when they had to select one between a brother and a sister for singing reality show 'Indian Idol Junior'.

Vishal and Shreya judge the Sony Entertainment Television show along with Shekhar Ravjiani. It became the strenuous task for them to select the top 10 young singers of the nation, said a statement.

There was a point when Shreya and Vishal had to choose one between a set of siblings. They couldn't control their emotions and eventually shed few tears, said a source.

Shreya says eliminating kids is the toughest part about being on the show.

"I just do not like this part of show when we need to say no to the contestants and specially to those cute and little ones. It really feels sad," said Shreya.

Salman Khan Salutes the talent on Indian Idol Junior

It's not every day that you see Bollywood stars go ga ga over someone but few junior singers are being noticed!

Sony Entertainment Television's recently launched music reality show Indian Idol Junior is not only receiving accolades from viewers but from Bollywood bigwigs too. These sparkling tuneful juniors have found a new fan in none other than the Dabangg Khan.

Sony Entertainment Television Asia has confirmed the launch of its music talent show ‘Indian Idol Junior’.

‘Indian Idol Junior’ will be similar to its flagship ‘Indian Idol’ format, however only children will be vying for the winning title.

The three judges who will front the show are Vishal Shekhar and Shreya Ghoshal. Mandira Bedi and Karan Wahi will host the programme. Wahi has recently just completed his stint as host of Star Plus’ popular show ‘Nach Baliye 5′.

‘Indian Idol Junior’ will take the Saturday and Sunday 20:30 slot from 1st June.

After presenting India with some of the most talented and loved voices, the popular singing talent show that has captured the imagination of the nation – Indian Idol – is back – with a twist. For the first time, Indian Idol will have children aged between 5 – 15 years participating in the singing talent competition to become India’s first ever Indian Idol Junior. The show that has carved a niche for itself as the biggest singing talent show in India, will open its doors to young singers as Indian Idol Junior begins on its mission to find the best junior singing talent in the country.

Speaking about the brand new season and adding a fresh perspective to it, Leo Burnett Mumbai, the agency for Sony Entertainment Television, has conceptualised the campaign ‘Gaano ka wahi jaadu, ab bachchon ki awaaz mein’. The thought is delivered in its true characteristic style. The campaign consists of four commercials which showcase iconic songs like ‘Tujhe dekha toh yeh jaana sanam’, ‘Ai meri zohara jabeen’, ‘Yaadon ki baarat’ and ‘Radha on the dance floor’, recreated exactly like the original but performed by children.

The idea brings out what the viewers will expect from Indian Idol Junior this season – a complete fun and entertainment show portraying the talents of children who have voices as good as the ones in songs that all of us have enjoyed listening for so many years.

Anupriya Shetty, Brand Partner, Leo Burnett, said, “While Indian Idol has always been about showcasing great singing talent, our challenge this year with Indian Idol Junior was how to get people of all generations sample the show. Therefore, the idea we conceptualised tackled the challenge beautifully with our selection of songs which appeal to all generations.”

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Executive Creative Director, Leo Burnett, added, “We wanted to do something unpredictable, and since it was Indian Idol Junior this year, we were sure that it had to be enjoyable and should not take the focus from the main message of it being a singing show by children who are great at singing and are here to showcase their talent.”

The campaign has been executed by Director Sanjay Shetty and his team at Opticus Inc. who have painstakingly shot all the four TVCs keeping in mind not to lose the essence of the original songs, and yet create magic with children.

Gaurav Seth, Senior VP and Marketing Head, SET, said, “Indian Idol has been an exceptionally popular show and a successful format for Sony. After the huge success of Indian Idol 6 last year, we wanted to give the show a fresh standpoint as well as to discover newer talent horizons. Hence we have come up with Indian Idol Junior. Our campaign idea ‘Gaano ka wahi jaadoo, ab bachchon ki awaaz mein’ beautifully captures how music, which plays such a strong role in our lives, will now be showcased in the voices of our younger but hugely talented contestants.”

Seth further said, “The TVCs were designed to break clutter in an extremely crowded television space. The idea of transplanting kids into iconic film song sequences, created by Leo Burnett, has worked magically. The surprise, when the lead protagonist is discovered to be a child in the sequence, has endeared the spots among all our viewers and we hope this provides the desired impact to drive audiences in droves to our show.”

Credits:

Agency: Leo Burnett Mumbai
Creative Team: Nitesh Tiwari, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Neeraj Singh, Pranjal Chowdhary, Deepti Gera Rastogi
Account Management: Anup Vishwanathan, Anupriya Shetty, Swati Khanduri
Films: Kevin Affonso, Manoj Pillai
Production House: Opticus Inc
Director: Sanjay Shetty

Shreya Ghoshal and Vishal-Shekhar visit the capital to hunt for the first Indian idol Junior.  Indian Idol the most popular singing reality show that has presented some of the finest singing talent in the country, is back in a new avatar. Indian Idol Junior - the search for the new young voice that will enthrall millions of viewers across India reached Mumbai. The auditions received an outstanding response from the city. With Mandira Bedi and Karan Wahi anchoring the audition, the excitement amongst aspiring singers who gathered at Andheri Sports complex was overwhelming.



To ensure that 'Koi Bhi Talent Chhootne Na Paye' the three biggest names of the music industry Shreya Ghoshal, Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani had the daunting task of picking the best talent amongst thousands of young aspirants. The awesome trio were thrilled by the phenomenal response to the audition. Enthusiastic people were seen queuing up for their claim to fame from the wee hours of the morning.

Indian Idol took reality television to new heights and has produced some of the finest and most talented singers. Even though the show is in its seventh season, 'Indian Idol' continues to be as exciting as it was when it first came to India.