Sunidhi Chauhan reveals why she is no longer a judge on Indian Idol, says she was told to praise contestants

Singer Sunidhi Chauhan has said that she quit Indian Idol as a judge as she could not go on doing "what they (the makers) wanted". She said that she was asked to praise contestants on Indian Idol. Sunidhi, who was on the judges' panel for the fifth and sixth seasons of the reality show, was responding to the latest controversy around it.

RJ-singer Amit Kumar recently claimed that the producers of Indian Idol had asked him to praise all the contestants, irrespective of his opinion. Amit was a guest judge on a special episode of the show where they paid homage to his father, legendary singer Kishore Kumar.

Sunidhi told a leading daily on Sunday, "Not exactly this ki sabko karna hai (that praise all of them) 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."

Talking about why the makers go for such an approach, she said, "I think it is done to seek attention. I think it is required to be done to hold your audience. Guess it works."

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In an earlier interview with a leading daily, Amit had said, "I did what I was told. I was told sabko praise karna hai. I was told jo jaisa bhi gaaye usko uplift karna hai (I was told to praise everyone and to uplift everyone, no matter how they sang) because it's a tribute to Kishore da." He added that he went there believing it would be a homage to his father, but simply followed instructions from the producers on the sets.

The show's host and singer Aditya Narayan had responded to the allegations and said in an interview that Amit should have conveyed his feelings to the makers of the show, instead of speaking to the media later.