Anu Malik to stay on as judge in Indian Idol..

Sony Entertainment Television has finally succeeded in getting into a compromise position with Anu Malik, and the latest update is that Anu will stay on to judge Season 5 of Indian Idol, which launches on April 26th. 

According to our source, "The channel and Anu wanted to come to a solution before the latter left to London last night. The channel authorities met Anu last night and the meeting was eventful. One of the main discussion points was that, Anu Malik expressed his displeasure about bright talents getting lost in the later stages of the show, when the entire decision to vote, rests with the public. In other words, Anu Malik demanded for a Veto power for the judges which would enable them to save the talented singers from going out of the show. The channel authorities did accept this suggestion, and promised to work out a format for the same".

For the uninitiated, there was a buzz of roping in either Mika Singh or Bappi Lahiri as judge, in case the channel failed to meet the demands of Anu Malik. However, the channel authorities were very confident that they could convince Anu Malik to stay on.

When contacted, Danish Khan, Marketing Head, Sony confirmed the news and said, "We were in talks with Anu Malik last night, and we succeeded in retaining him. We talked about certain issues, for which we have struck a compromise".

When asked about the details of the compromise, Danish Khan told us, "We cannot divulge much of it, as it is confidential. Anu Malik demanded an empowerment to be given to the judges to hold back the bright talents from going out of the show. We have accepted this suggestion, and will be taking this to the board. We have told him that once we are done with the launch of Indian Idol, we will surely sit to talk on this aspect".

With all the problems sorted out, guess we are now ready for the launch of the Season 5 of Indian Idol…

Reporter and Author: Srividya Rajesh