Antara Mitra

Infobox musical artist
Name = Antara Mitra


Img_capt = "Indian Idol" promotional photograph of Antara Mitra
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Antara Mitra
Alias = Antara Mitra
Born = July 10, 1987
West Bengal
Origin = West Bengal
years_active = 2006–present

Antara Mitra (born July 10 1987 in West Bengal, India) managed to place fifth, and on March 7, 2006 was the last female remaining in Sony Entertainment Television's reality show Indian Idol 2. She is revered by her fans both for her vocal ability and her physical beauty--epotimizing youthful Indian musical talent. Mitra has a growing international audience eagerly awaiting her next appearance or release. Will someone please post at least one public domain picture of this fine artist??

Biography

Antara Mitra hails from Maslandpur, a small village in West Bengal, near Calcutta, India. She exhibited a keen interest in music early, and her father inspired her.

At one time she considered studying medicine, but abandoned the idea in favour of pursuing a professional singing career.

Mitra grew up with music: her father is a music teacher. Since the age of three, Antara would sing along with other children who came to her home in order to learn from her father.

When Antara was eliminated from the contest, well-known music director Anu Malik offered her playback singing work, but Antara returned to her home town and soon afterward (April 2006) she relocated to Mumbai to pursue her career.

Piano Round

In the Piano Round, the first round when TV audience viewer voting was invited, she sang the song "Rangeela Re" from the film Rangeela. Anu Malik remarked with a smile, "I think I have found my Playback Singer!"Indial Idol 1 champion Abhijeet said, 'Itna aacha performance hai ki mumbai walle bhi itna aacha nahi kar sakte. Itna aacha gaya...'Farah Khan said, ' [I think Antara is an] outstanding performer...' although Khan felt Mitra had slightly overperformed.Sonu Nigam said, "You can sing any kind of song beautifully, as well as you sing classical (Hindi songs). So the only word I can use for you is SUPERB!"On the following Indian Idol 2 episode, it was announced that Antara had bagged the most SMS (cell phone text message) votes.

Gala Rounds

Indian Idol's official competition stages had started! Antara for the first time performed in front of the podium, with the three judges and the millions of TV-viewing audience nationwide looking and listening on. Antara sang the song "Ruki Ruki Thi Zindagi." She got decent comments, Anu Malik telling her that she should not worry, because she will move to the next round "for sure." Farah Khan said her performance was that of an international superstar and that Antara looked like an "international superstar." Sonu told her to not move around as much, but said that it was very good.

In the second gala she sang "Tu Ruta To," and she got a few positive comments, however Sonu Nigam felt she did have more to offer. Tabu said Antara's makeover has been phenomenal and that she should keep up the good singing. Next gala, she showed much improvement with the song "Tere Bina," and all the judges gave her good comments. Anu found no fault in her singing. He said he is proud of her, "especially today; this is is a proud movement for me when I say that you are my playback singer." Farah and Sonu complimented her for a perfect performance. The two also had a few words of caution on the pronunciation of words. Actress Priyanka said, "She will create magic with her voice!!" and was impressed by the youthful quality of Antara's voice--adding that she has a great future in playback singing. Actress Kareena complimented, "Your voice is absolutely stunning, and I like what you're wearing today, too," gazing at her bright red saree.

But it was Antara's performances of "Zara Zara" and "Morani Baga" with which the judges were most impressed. For "Zara Zara" from Rehna hai tere dil mein, Sonu Nigam was very happy to see that Antara had taken his advice. 'Where was this side of you all these weeks? Fantastic singing, superb singing.' Anu Malik – 'tumhari singing ne jadoo bataya, kissi ko banaya aur kissi ko mitaya.' Farah Khan – 'Mind blowing singing & performance, it's your best performance `til date.' Amisha told Antara that "if there were rose buds on the sets, they would have bloomed" listening to her sweet voice.

In Next Gala she sang "Morni baga ma" from Lamhe. Anu praised her singing from all quarters. After hearing her, Farah seemed 'proud that she was one of the panel that discovered such a talented singer' like Antara 'from a small town in India.' Sonu was also surprised to see such a talented singer from a small town and said, "I'm so proud of you, because you're very very very good." Actress Preity also felt proud to be associated with a show where such marvelous talent flourishes. She said, "Kiyunki aapne bohot bohot bohot achcha gaaya." Preity also said she wishes that some day Antara would perform a playback (lip sync) track for her. Anu Malik supported that comment by reiterating that yes, "100% she is [in his mind] my playback singer."

Antara's next performance, of "Bairi Piya" was also appreciated by most of the judges. Anu Malik was satisfied with her performance of this difficult song. "You sang it so well," he said. Sonu Nigam said he felt that she had only put in an 80% effort. "Your specialty is that you can sing all types of songs, but today I feel that you could have done better, even though you have put up a good show," said Nigam. Farah said, "You sang so well, and I think I should disagree with Anuji, as the next Indian idol will be a girl." Farah also complimented Antara's looks, saying she could not only be the next Indian Idol, but also the next Miss India. Karan Johar said Antara's performance was a perfect gift to Sanjay Leela Bhansali, as it was his birthday! He added, "I really felt so good, aapka antara bhi n aapka mukhra bhi utna hi sundar hai." Antara's parents had also come to the Mumbai studio to surprise the young singer and to watch her perform for the first time--this led to a tearful on-camera family reunion, especially between mother and daughter. In the Results episode that followed, it was declared that, for the first time, Antara was in the bottom three (in danger of leaving the competition)! She was with N. C. Karunya and Meenal Jain there, and with Meenal in the bottom two. However, she made it to the final five, as Meenal was eliminated. Some think that the on-cameral family reunion was staged and contrived and that was why her standing suffered (viewing audience disapproval). Another theory is that the Indian TV audience became disinterested in emotionalism and returned strictly to competition--a typically-male pursuit.

The following week Antara was the the only female remaining. She sang "Mere Haathon," for which she received negative comments. Antara, feeling the pulse of the nation before her elimination had said, "Being the only girl left in the race now, I quite fear a vote out." Sandeep Acharya (the eventual top winner) and Antara were in the bottom two, and receiving the lowest number of SMS votes, she left, leaving 4 males in the competition. Antara got loud cheers of applause from the live audience and the hosts of the show, Aman Verma and Mini Mathur when she said that she didn’t want votes on the pretext that she was the only female contestant remaining on the show. Antara, somewhat shattered upon being voted out, said that she had learnt a lot on this TV platform. "This stage has given me so much: glamour, recognition... I am upset about being voted out, but I am quite content with the Indian Idol stage! For out of Indian Idol... I am not merely going back to my village, I am going to remain on here in Mumbai and make my name in the music industry," said the tearful yet confident singer.

Antara Mitra was the last female standing and competed to reach the Top Five contestants on a national TV contest show. She had the most impressive record of not being "in danger" on the Indian Idol 2 TV series: she was only in danger once! Also, in the galas, she received the most audience votes three times... specifically for her performances of "Ruki Ruki Thi Zindagi," "Zara Zara," and "Morani Baga."

Antara made a great impression on judges and viewers alike, and her camaraderie with other contestants also went well. She was one of the youngest contestants in this competition, even junior in years to also-young Karunya, Sagar, Sandeep, Monali and Meenal, and just a year older than the youngest contestant: Neha. She formed friendships with the series runner-up male vocalist N. C. Karunya, as well as female co-contestants Meenal Jain and Neha Kakkar.

Indian Idol 2 performances

Audition

*"Dama Dum Mast Kalandar", Runa Laila
**The judges liked it, however Anu Malik was a bit hesitant.

Theater Round

*"Kaisi Paheli Hai", Parineeta
**Antara was through to the piano round!

Piano Round

*"Rangeela Re", Rangeela - "Highest votes"
**Antara received good comments, especially from Anu "I think I have found my Playback Singer", and was through to the finals with the highest votes!

Gala Round

*Week 2: "Ruki Ruki Thi Zindagi", Mast
**Antara received fairly good comments from the judges. Farha said like Antara looked like an International Rock Star on stage

*Week 3: "Tu Rutha To", Jawani
**The judges liked her performance, but said that your lost concentration was somewhere while Tabu said her makeover has been phenomenal.

*Week 4: "Tere Bina Jiya Jaye Na", Ghar
**She got good comments from the judges. Priyanka said she got great future in Playback singing.

*Week 5: "Zara Zara", Rehana Hai Tere Dil Mein
**The judges loved Antara's performance, and it was her best performance to date. Amisha said that if there were rose buds on the sets, they would have bloomed listening to her sweet voice.

*Week 6: "Morani Baga Ma Bole, Lamhe
**Antara received rave reviews from all the judges, and they were all extremely appreciative. Preity also want her to do playback for her too.

*Week 7: "Bairi Piya", Devdas "(Bottom 2)"
**The judges all liked her performance. Sonu Nigam said that it could have been a bit better, as her voice was capable of taking that song to greater heights. Farha called her Miss India while Karan said its perfect gift to Sanjay Leela bansali.

*Week 8: "Mere Haathon Main", Chandni "(Eliminated)"
**For the first time, Antara received mostly negative comments from the judges for her song selection.

*Grand Finale: "Woh Pehli Baar", "Ek Main Ek Tu", "Jawani Jaaneman", "Oh Saki Saki", "Right Here Right Now" (With N. C. Karunya and Meenal Jain)

*Concert: "Woh Pehli Baar", "Salaam Namaste", "Agar tum Miljao", "Saki Saki"

Discography

* Woh Pehli Baar album - sang group number and then solo Tu Rutha To

* Doing lods of shows in India & Abroad ...

* Performed in SONY Navarati special with cast of Thodi Khushi Thode Gham

* Appeared in numerous SBS episodes,Music Masti Dhoom, Kyonki soap,kis desh mein, K 4 Kishore & also seen auditioning II-3 in Bhopal

* She sung a duet with Sonu Nigam in SPEED ; Music Director-Pritam

* Lose many songs in 11th hour; Its rocking by Alisha , yeh Ishq from Jab We Met by Shreya & many...(In remix version of yeh ISHQ from Jab We Met u can hear antara's voice in beginning & in 2 times in middle)

* She sung for Music Directors Anand Raj Anand & Sandesh...

* She were guest in Adnan's Bol Baby Bol show & won 2 lakhs...

* she is now participating in NDTV imagine's Junoon musical reality show...