Former Indian Idol judge Sunidhi Chauhan has dropped a bombshell amidst a raging controversy surrounding Sony TV’s singing reality show. The famous Bollywood singer also revealed why she decided not to judge Indian Idol after two seasons.
“Not exactly this ki sabko karna hai but yes, we all were told (to praise). That was the basic thing. And so, I couldn’t go on. I couldn’t do what they wanted and I had to part ways. Hence, today, I am not judging any reality show,” Sunidhi, who judged the season 5 and 6 of the singing reality show, told ETimes.
The controversy over this year’s Indian Idol was triggered by an explosive interview by Amit Kumar, son of the legendary singer Kishore Kumar, after he joined the show as a guest. Amit Kumar had said that he was instructed to only praise the contestants irrespective of the quality of their singing. He had gone on to add that he did not enjoy the episode dedicated to his legendary father.
Sunidhi also said that their (contestants’) songs were sometimes doctored. When asked if she meant that contestants did not sing in one take, Sunidhi replied, “They sing. But the songs/recordings of certain singers do experience a glitch sometimes which is then corrected before the show is telecast on national television.”
Responding to criticism from Amit Kumar, the show’s guest judge Manoj Muntashir too said that the legend’s son ‘shouldn’t have agreed to be a part of it in the first place.’ “He took money for being a part of the show and then criticised it. I wouldn’t have done what Amit Kumar did. If I was in his place and not comfortable with the proceedings, I would have told the makers that I don’t want to be a part of the show.”
Earlier the reality show’s host Aditya Narayan too had slammed Amit Kumar by saying that contestants of Indian Idol were not competing with Kishore Kumar.
Indian Idol is currently being judged by Anu Malik and Manoj Muntashir. Vishal Dadlani, Neha Kakkar and Himesh Reshammiya have decided to stay away from the show ever since the new wave of the pandemic hit the country.