The real deal

It was in school that I last heard the statement 8220;Let8217;s not behave like a fish market8221;, the Day One of MTV Roadies 6 auditions revived those school memories. The venue was Indradhanush Auditorium, Sector 5, Panchkula and the scene 8211; Step One of Roadies auditions 8211; group discussion. We attended two of the GDs, saw little of discussion and barely anything of a group. And why even expect one, at Roadies you are on your own. So there they were, bunches of hopefuls hoping to make it to Down Under. 8220;We have a 8216;Hindi only8217; rule at the auditions, the only brief we give the participants is that we are not judging them on right or wrong answers but interesting points,8221; remarks Ashish Patil, General Manager of MTV. So to arguments like 8216;Akshay versus SRK8217;, 8216;Why don8217;t you want to be a Roadie?8217; and 8216;Girls can never be a Roadie8217; the aspirants spoke their hearts and throats out. The clever ones spoke only when they caught GD conductors lift their eyes from the registration forms.

The crowd was a mix of some nervous faces with the 8216;mera number kab ayega8217; look and occasionally we found those who were just too happy to be there. And further outside the premises were the best examples of the gum-chewing, 8216;tired-but-not-tired-enough-for-hooting8217; ones. Bikes equalled the attitude quotient of their bikers. Girls came in vests, sporting stylish hairdos, bright nail paints and dresses that revealed sexy tattoos. The guy brigade flaunted its muscles in vests and sleeveless tees not to miss the jackets slung over shoulders, colourful bandanas and funky hairstyles spelt attitude. Meanwhile, the chanawallas and juicewallas had their 8216;chaandi8217; since many of the wanna be Roadies had been in the queue since the evening before the auditions. 8220;I chose Chandigarh auditions instead of Delhi because Delhi is not safe anymore,8221; Pankaj tells us adding that the same reason has pulled many Delhiites to Chandigarh. While many Chandigarhites turned up for the third or fourth time with their fingers crossed. 8220;Ayushmann also made it in his third attempt. He never gave up, neither will we,8221; echo Sunil and Kanwar. Preparations? 8220;None, I just came for the heck of it,8221; tells Nandini. Ditto for Kanchan who came with a friend who was probably the only one around in a salwar-kameez. What about the Roadies Cheat Code? 8220;What8217;s that?8221; came the reply except for Akaash who swears by it and hopes to impress the judges. 8220;I have watched the DVD many times and even the MTV show on the same,8221; he smiles. But exactly why offer yourself to get your nerves tested on national television? 8220;Merely watching Roadies gives me a rush, I want to take it the next level for myself now,8221; says a starry-eyed Vikrant while Niki believes her 8216;Prabhjot-like8217; attitude will bring victory for girls this time.

Entertaining the crowd was MC Gunjan who not only conducted different games but also gave his bit of advice to the 8216;preys8217; heading for the GD, 8220;Check your forms and stickers, chehre pe smile, aur pant ka zip sambhal ke!8221; Patil tells us that Chandigarh is a favourite destination for Roadies, 8220;We have some of the best contestants from here. I have seen some talent so far and I hope Day Two gets better.8221; Not only the show but also the response has got better. 8220;We have had auditions in three cities so far and the number of participants is more than that of last year8217;s five cities, this time we are holding the auditions on two days. I was hoping to see more girls this time and I8217;m not disappointed,8221; Raghu Ram shares. Game for the road?