i buy it that he plays according to the format of the show
again i agree he is not powerful like today's MDs , his time was 20-30 yrs back , the attention he is getting now may be is more than sufficient for him
his colleague MDs must be resting in grave .... lolzzzz
First of all Mauli was his favorite and if you watch the Hungama episode. The channel asked him why he is praises her above all. He said she is very popular and has a huge fan base thats why he was confident she would not leave the competition. He had more confidence in Mauli than Sumedha because he thought she was his stronger contestant to lead him to victory. That's why he also called Mauli and not Sumedha when Aneek and Amanat were on stage.
Mauli's elimination must have been a shock to Bapppida. He would also be angry with the janta that his chahiti is out. I don't think the channel staged this even if they did, it was still Bappida's choice as to what extent to go to.
Bappida's was one of my favorite judges because he gave points that were fair instead of throwing tens. He also gave the most breaks to the contestants. I no longer feel the same way not because of the way he looks or he was popular during the 80's but because of his recent actions.