Indian Idol 12 row: Salim Merchant reveals he has been asked to praise contestants on shows!

New Delhi: The popular singing reality show Indian Idol 12 has been a newsmaker and lately for its various controversies. When the makers hosted a special episode on late legendary Kishore Kumar, it didn't turn out the way it should have been. Fans trolled judges Neha Kakkar and Himesh Reshammiya for singing the legendary icon's songs badly.

Interestingly, Kishore Kumar's son Amit Kumar was a special guest on the show and his interview after the episode fiasco further led to a row. 

Amit Kumar in his interview with ETimes revealed that he was asked by the makers to praise all contestants. "The truth is that nobody can sing like Kishore Kumar, he was a mountain of a personality and man of many faces. The youngsters of today have no idea about him, they just know 'Roop Tera Mastana' from 'Aradhna'. I did what I was told. I was told sabko praise karna hai. I was told jo jaisa bhi gaaye usko uplift karna hai because it's a tribute to Kishore da. I thought it will be a homage to my father. But once there, I just followed what I was asked to do. I had told them to give me portions of the script in advance, but nothing of that sort happened."

Now, reacting to the controversy, music composer Salim Merchant in an interview with radio jockey Siddharth Kannan said, "Yes, mere saath bhi hua hai. But honestly, maine kabhi nahi suna unki baat. Shayad aaj main koi judge ki seat pe nahi baitha hoon because of that."

Salim added that he too has praised contestants many a times but it was to boost their morale. He said, "Main isliye nahi karta hoon because mujhe kaha gaya hai taareef karna. Main taareef isliye karta hoon ki kisi ki khaamiyaan nikaalne ke bajaay main khoobi dekhta hoon. Agar main uski khoobi ki taareef karoon toh shayad, main aisa maanta hoon ki, woh singer behtar kar sakta hai."

"It happens. You have to be very generous about your comments. Mere saath aisa bohot baar hua hai ki the show directors have told me ki please aap log negative mat baniye. Lekin main na, thoda sa smart hoon iss maamle mein. Main humesha khaamiyaan nikaal hi deta hoon par achchi tarah se nikaalta hoon," he quipped. 

Indian Idol 12 is hosted by Aditya Narayan. The shoot was shifted to Daman amid the deadly novel Coronavirus pandemic. The show is judged by Neha Kakkar, Himesh Reshammiya and Vishal Dadlani. Recently, Anu Malik came on board as a replacement for the latter.