India lyricist Manoj Muntashir has now reacted to the controversy around Indian Idol 12. Manoj has commented on the Amit Kumar controversy that has been going on for a few days now. Amit, son of legendary singer Kishore Kumar, visited Indian Idol 12 for a special episode and later slammed it by calling it boring. 

Now, the guest judge of the show Manoj has come in support of the show and said that Amit Kumar 'took money for being a part of the show and then criticized it.' In an interview with a leading daily Manoj said, "If Amit Kumar came out and lashed out at the show, he shouldn’t have agreed to be a part of it in the first place. He took money for being a part of the show and then criticised it. I wouldn’t have done what Amit Kumar did. If I was in his place and not comfortable with the proceedings, I would have told the makers that I don’t want to be a part of the show."

Singer Neha Kakkar and singer-composer Himesh Reshammiya, who judge the show, were also criticized for singing Kishore’s songs on the show. Defending them Manoj said, "Let me tell you one more thing. If I sing Kishore Kumar’s songs in my bathroom or amongst my friends, nobody can tell me that I can’t sing like him. I know I can't, nobody can. Whatever Neha and Himesh sang, they did to celebrate Kishore Kumar and it should have been taken in the right spirit. There was nothing wrong in what they did."

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He added, “The harsh criticism by the guest judges demotivates the contestants. So, the guest judges are told that they need to look at and talk about the singer’s positives too. This instruction has been given to me too. Of course, we as professional musicians have high benchmarks but we cannot weigh the kids on the same scale.”

In an earlier interview, Amit Kumar 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 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."

(Source: ETimes)