'Indian Idol Is Not Scripted': Neha Kakkar Takes A Dig At Sunidhi Chauhan For Calling Reality Shows 'Fake'

The latest season of Indian Idol 16 ended after a nine- to 10-month run after multiple extensions fuelled by strong TRPs. Neha Kakkar has now dismissed claims that singing reality shows such as Indian Idol are losing viewers, and she has taken a swipe at Sunidhi Chauhan, who earlier said such shows are scripted.

Sunidhi had made the remarks on Raj Shamani’s podcast for Brut India in 2024. She said reality shows had changed from being genuine to heavily managed.

What Sunidhi Chauhan said about reality shows

“I enjoyed the first two years; things were going very well. But then the turbulence began. Reality shows also changed a lot. They used to be so real earlier. Now what you hear on TV is all doctored… it’s all corrected. They want to make sure that there is no bad singer they have on the show. It looks funny how someone who got praise gets eliminated in the next episode,” Chauhan said.

She said those issues pushed her away from judging such programmes. “These things had started to bother me; that’s why I stopped being a part of reality shows. Then I did The Voice India and there were a few conditions I had. They agreed to that, and the show did decently well. It was not as big as Indian Idol, though. I was relieved that what the audience was hearing was genuine; I can’t stand cheating. I was happy to be a part of it till the time it was okay. Now I don’t wish to be a part of it. I did five of them,” she added.

“On Dil Hai Hindustani, fake stories were made about contestants. The most shocking thing for me, which also became a deal-breaker, was when I was told that a certain contestant needed to be pushed ahead in the game, so I should say nice things, but I refused. They would choose a few contestants to take forward; they would sign a contract so, when the person wins, they would do shows with him or her,” she said further.

Neha Kakkar counters

At an event, Neha defended Indian Idol against the charge that it is scripted and linked the show’s TRP strength to her own stint on the judges’ panel.

“Indian Idol lost its fame because I stopped doing the show. Till the time I was doing the show, the TRP was the highest, but as they say, grapes are sour if you cannot get them; that’s the case. Those who don’t get the grapes only find them to be sour. The show is not scripted at all; people’s lives cannot be scripted. All of us Indians come from humble backgrounds, even I do, and if someone’s story makes me emotional, then it’s bound to happen,” Kakkar said.

Kakkar served as judge in Indian Idol from from Season 10 through Season 13.