Rahul Vaidya bares it all

Former Indian Idol contestant and singing talent show Jjhoom India anchor Rahul Vaidya has one regret. "I don't have many film songs," he says. Rahul is not indulging in reality show bashing or bemoaning the fact that like some of his other Indian Idol colleagues he has not leapt on to the Hindi cinema playback stage. Rather he is talking about the trials and tribulations singers have to go through before hitting the charts. Says he, "It's very easy for people to degrade stars of reality shows but I think they are being very impatient. A singer as great as Sonu Nigam also had to struggle for a decade before establishing himself". The 20-year-old has his hands full at the moment. He's not only anchoring Jjhoom India, but he's also working on his second album tentatively titled 'Maula Mera'. And finally, he is getting to sing for Rakesh Roshan's Krazy 4 which for him is the icing on the cake. The one criticism that has been levied against Rahul is that he's a Sonu Nigam clone. The singer hits back, "When Sonu came in this industry; he was labeled a Mohammed Rafi clone. I've never looked at it this way. It can be termed as an inspiration but never an imitation. Everyone has his share of time and work. I am waiting, I am biding my time." Did the film industry ever make him feel like a clone? "Never! I don't know what they say behind my back but whenever I've met them they've always praised me," Rahul retorts. Jjhoom India marks his anchoring debut but Rahul isn't completely new to it. "I've anchored stage shows during my college days," says the new host on the block. Jjhoom India is a show wherein a singer-actor pair will compete with nine others for the coveted title. Giving him company as co-anchor on Jjhoom is small screen actor Sucheta Khanna. So, what is his role as a singer anchor? He enunciates, "Anchoring is my top priority but you'll also have me singing. That fulfills the role of a singer anchor. However, I'm likely to be partial towards the singers, particularly my guru Suresh Wadkar (who is Shweta Tiwari's partner in Jjhoom) Though he stays loyal to his guru, Rahul puts Shama Sikander and her singer partner Zubin Garg as the favourites. Favourites don't often win and no one knows this better than Rahul himself. Here's hoping that Shama and Zubin don't go the Rahul Vaidya way.