Aditya Narayan apologizes to MNS for 'derogatory comment' on Alibaug
What's the story
Looks like the singing reality show Indian Idol is churning out controversies one after the other. This time its host Aditya Narayan has got into trouble with the political party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). He reportedly took a dig at the residents of Alibaug, which didn't bode well with many, who later drew the political party's attention. Narayan has since apologized for his comment.
Incident
'Haven't seen the show, but got complaints from many people'
MNS Chitrapat Sena chief Ameya Khopkar took to social media and said that Narayan had hurt the sentiments of Alibaug residents, and had to apologize. Khopkar said, "He made a derogatory comment about our Maharashtra's Alibaug. I haven't seen the show, but I got complaints from many people from Maharashtra." He also issued a threat to stop the show, if Narayan doesn't pay heed.
Details
What did Narayan say to spark the outrage?
In a recent episode of Indian Idol, Narayan joked with a contestant named Sawai Singh, saying, "Hum kya Alibaug se aaye hai?" (You think we have come from Alibaug?) Citing the comment, Khopkar added, "I think they are not aware of the rich cultural heritage that comes from Alibaug. If we, people of Alibaug, get upset, they don't know what we can do."
Apology
Have immense love and respect for Alibaug, Narayan says
Soon after the backlash, Narayan took to social media and issued an unconditional apology, saying he didn't intend to hurt anyone. He said, "I want to apologize to the people of Alibaug and everyone who has been hurt by my sentence on a recent episode of Indian Idol...The intention was never to hurt anyone. I have immense love and respect for Alibaug."
Controversy
Recently, 'Indian Idol' was called out for being 'fake', 'dramatic'
Before this, the show hit headlines when Kishore Kumar's son Amit Kumar slammed it for conducting a sub-par episode, dedicated to his father. As the guest judge, he was disappointed with the mediocrity, and wanted to "stop it." He alleged that the channel forced him to praise all contestants. Recently, Season 1 winner Abhijeet Sawant also asked Indian Idol to tone down the drama.