Sonu Nigam on ‘sob stories’ on reality shows: ‘It is a marketing thing, and people are not fools’

Sonu Nigam, former Indian Idol and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa judge, talked about the trend of highlighting ‘sob stories’ on reality shows. He called it a ‘marketing thing’ and said that it is clearly striking a chord with the audience.

Sonu Nigam, who has earlier been a judge on reality shows such as Indian Idol and Sa Re Ga Ma Pa, talked about the trend of highlighting the contestants’ backstories on reality shows. He said that ‘sob stories’ are clearly working or else they would not feature so often. He maintained, however, that the contestants are ‘extremely talented’ in their own right.

Sonu Nigam has earlier been a judge on music reality show Indian Idol.

Recently, Abhijeet Sawant, who won the first season of Indian Idol, criticised the show’s latest season for focussing more on the humble backgrounds of contestants instead of their singing abilities.

Talking to a leading daily, Sonu Nigam said, “If they weren’t working (sob stories), it would not be happening so often on reality shows. In the deepest corner of my heart, I feel sob stories are working. It is a marketing thing, and people are not fools. Their hearts are in the right place. I also feel that the contestants in reality shows are extremely talented. They are ‘dhurandhars’.”

“Secondly, the definition of entertainment varies from person to person. Recently, I was watching a Korean film and I connected with it because it reminded me of my struggles, but it could be boring for someone else. Who am I to comment on the music reality shows? They are doing well, getting good viewership and the singers are phenomenal,” he added.

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Earlier this month, Sonu came out in support of Amit Kumar over his comments on a Kishore Kumar tribute episode of Indian Idol. After the episode was criticised online, Amit, who was a guest judge on it, admitted that he simply followed the team's instructions to praise all the contestants, irrespective of his opinion. This got sharp responses from many, including Aditya Narayan and Manoj Muntashir.

Calling Amit a ‘bohot bade aadmi (very big man)’, Sonu said that he is an industry veteran with a lot of experience. “Seedhe aadmi hai, shareef aadmi hai, kuch bolte nahi hai, he is maintaining a dignified silence. Uska aap log undue advantage le rahe hai (He is a simple and honest man, and undue advantage is being taken of his dignified silence),” he said in a video posted on Instagram.