Aditya Narayan on Indian Idol 12 contestants being trolled: ‘My salute to all the trolls’

The conversation around Indian Idol 12 and the quality of its content doesn’t seem to be dying down anytime soon. It all started when legendary singer Kishore Kumar’s son Amit Kumar appeared as a guest on the show and later criticised it for the quality of singing. He admitted that he “wanted to stop the episode,” which was supposed to be a tribute to his father, adding that he was asked to praise every contestant irrespective of how they perform.

While judges of the show — Neha Kakkar and Himesh Reshammiya — have not commented on the controversy, its host Aditya Narayan has spoken in the defence of the show. Things came to a head when he took a dig at Amit Kumar’s comments on a recent episode of the show.

Addressing the criticism the show has been receiving not only by prominent personalities but even by a section of fans on social media, Aditya said he is unfazed by it. He also said it was a good practice for the contestants who are often targeted by people online. After a recent episode, contestant Shanmukhpriya received hate from a section of people online.

“To all those who are trolling and lashing out at me I say, Shashtaang Pranaam to all and God bless you. I feel like that cheetah who wouldn’t move to prove he’s the fastest in a dog race. Sometimes trying to prove your point is an insult to your own intelligence and experience .This is how I feel while defending arguably the best collection of contestants on a reality show. Indian Idol is the no.1 reality show for 26 weeks running. Do I need to defend it?” the singer-host told SpotBoye.com.

Later, he said that the contestants are learning to receive and handle criticism at an early stage of their careers.

“Accha hai. They are getting to know the harsh reality of the world outside the reality show. As their fans grow, so will the critics. It is inevitable,” he concluded.

In an episode, which aired last weekend, Aditya was seen asking guests on the show, Kumar Sanu, Anuradha Paudwal and Roop Kumar Rathod, if the words of encouragement they shared for Indian Idol contestants were from the heart or did the team ask them for it.

“Aapne humare contestants ki jo itni taarif ki hai, dil se ki hai ya humare team se kisi ne bola hai karne ko (Was it honest praise or did the Indian Idol team asked you to do it)?” he asked to which Kumar Sanu replied that whatever he said was ‘ekdum dil se.’ “They are really great singers and performed amazingly. All of them could pass off as playback singers right now. I have never seen so many talented people on one reality show. Each one of them is a heera (diamond),” Sanu said.

Anuradha Paudwal also praised the quality of singers the show hosted. “I found the contestants very talented and there was nothing controversial about it. If people are questioning their (Indian Idol 12 contestants’) talent, I am surprised,” she said.

Indian Idol season 12 airs on SonyTV and is judged by Himesh Reshammiya, Neha Kakkar and Anu Mallik.