American Idol’s ‘Turbanator’ wasn’t ‘conscious’ of how big a role model he became

Gurpreet Singh Sarin impressed with his fusion of Indian classical music and western music on ‘American Idol.’ Submitted photo/IANS/FOX

New Delhi, March 22 (IANS) Gurpreet Singh Sarin happens to be luckier than Shilpa Shetty. The American musician of Indian origin, who made it to the top 40 on “American Idol,” says he didn’t face any racial discrimination on his journey to achieving a fusion of Indian classical music and western music.

“I am very thankful I did not face anything like that (racism) from the judges or any other people,” Sarin told IANS over the phone from New York.

“I was conscious that there must be people who might be ignorant and racist and did not understand where I come from, but I was just focussed on my singing, and moving on to the next level of competition,” added the singer, who earned the moniker “Turbanator” because he spiffily matched the colour of his turbans to the rest of his attire while competing on the reality show.

This is quite unlike what Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty faced in Britain when she was a part of “Celebrity Big Brother” in 2007. She was bullied by the other contestants and the racist attacks caused a furore in several quarters. Ultimately, Shetty won the competition.

Although Sarin was eliminated, he is happy he has been “able to educate people about myself through my passion and dream, and that has been a blessing.”

He impressed the judges, which include Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban, with his talent and even made host Ryan Seacrest do the bhangra.

A trained classical singer, the 22-year-old belongs to a family with an inclination for instruments like the tabla, sitar and flute. Through music, Sarin wanted to show how two worlds — Indian and western — can be brought together.

“One reason why I wanted to be on the show was to show everyone how I can incorporate Indian classical music into American music. There have been artists like Norah Jones who have incorporated Indian classical influences and I got an opportunity to do the same,” he said.

A student of computer and information science at a university in New York, Sarin has Bollywood in mind, too. His influences include artists like tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, sarod expert Amjad Ali Khan and late sitar maestro Ravi Shankar, who upped India’s presence on the world stage with their talent.

Sarin admits that as a contestant on “Idol,” he served as an inspiration and encouragement for other Indian-origin youngsters in the U.S. He says he received immense support through the online medium.

“I would get messages from my fans saying that being an Indian, I am encouraging them and I am their role model. For me that was a wonderful opportunity. I wasn’t even conscious how large a role model I had become,” Gurpreet said.

He, however, wants to finish his studies first before giving himself completely to the music world and is thankful about the exposure he got through “American Idol.”

IANS 2013-03-22 16:42:08

Tags: American Idol, Amjad Ali Khan, Celebrity Big Brother, Gurpreet Singh Sarin, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Norah Jones, Ravi Shankar, Ryan Seacrest, Shilpa Shetty, Zakir Hussain