Even with the debate on whether the Ek Main Aur Ek Tu judges be allowed a second vote, Groovy Gurus Hariharan and Leslie Lewis went ahead and

exercised their sole veto vote in this Thursday’s elimination episode.

With power failure delaying the shoot, it turned out to be a show with never ending real time twists and turns. The theme this week is ‘Super Duper Hits From The Golden Era’.

The show began with hosts Shaan and Ishita asking the judges whether they would use their veto power on the episode. At first, the judges said that they would wait for audience response. Then, they wanted consensus on this from the participating jodis. A majority of the jodis, except Vishwas and Sharib, agreed for two veto votes for the judges. But, Joyeeta has a valid point that a second vote would help as Reliance is not available in North East India.

Among the many unscripted highlights of the episode, the one that proved perhaps to be the turning point in this contest was when the Groovy Gurus decided to use their veto power. Sinchan and Irfan were the borderline jodi last week and they had to perform at Ahmedabad having received the least votes from that city. Their performance at Ahmedabad’s Carnavati Club was well received by the audience. And, though the judges have noticed a consistent improvement in them, India voted them out this week.

Southern Spices, as Sinchan and Irfan are fondly referred to by the judges, were ranked third by the judges for their last Friday episode. The judges expressed shock and sadness that the public’s ranking was not matching theirs. The jodi’s families present in the audience accepted the public’s decision but requested that they be allowed to sing one last time to prove that they have been working hard and that it was only the unfortunate disruption in Karnataka because of Rajkumar’s death that cost them their place in the competition.

Though the format does not allow the eliminated jodi to perform in the Thursday episode, the heartfelt appeal by their family touched the judges and they were allowed to sing. And, what a performance it was, Sinchan and Irfan sang to hear a huge applause from the audience. They proved that the elimination did not deter their confidence.

Shocked and upset over the voting pattern, Hariharan and Leslie requested some time to deliberate whether they would use their veto vote to bring this talented duo back into the contest. And, voila, the judges announced that they are using their veto power to bring the duo back.

Speaking to Tellychakkar.com Gajendrra said, “If you're talented and representing who you are, there's absolutely an audience for you. No one gets a free pass, and unique talent trumps everything else."

This episode has drama from start to finish. The jodis received 14,56,000 votes totally from viewers in India. Rajeev and Sanchali, despite a very bad performance last week, received the highest per cent of votes (19.38) from India for the second time in a row. Despite assuring the judges that they will not let down the faith reposed on them by the viewers, they faltered. They stopped after singing the first few lines saying the track was not matching and requested for a retake. This infuriated Hariharan, Leslie and Gajendrra Siingh as the format “is just one take, no repeats or chances given if they muff up.” Citing that they were lucky to get public support for their weak performance last week, Hariharan insisted that they should be disqualified for muffing up again.

With repeated pleas from the hosts and the audience, Hariharan later agreed to let the other jodis decide if they deserved another chance. Getting their okay also

did not convince Hariharan, who was adamant that one cannot stop midway if one is a professional singer. Eventually after much persuasion from the jodis, hosts, audience and Leslie, he agreed to let them sing. Let’s see if India gives them another chance!

The voting pattern reveals mixed signals on whether it is the voice or the presentation that is appealing the viewers. Twinkle and Vishwas, who despite giving a good performance consistently, are losing their top spot with viewers preferring others. On the other hand, being the borderline jodi, Pune’s Prajakta and Hrishikesh have to perform in Ludhiana this week to gain public support. Commenting on the fact that the two most well liked, talented pairs were voted the last two jodis, Shaan said, “Today, flamboyance and style is given preference over simplicity.”