Mumbai, May 31: Anu Malik was fired from Indian Idol 10 in October, 2018 due to MeToo allegation. The music composed was accused of sexual misconduct by singers Sona Mohapatra and Shweta Pandit, who called him a paedophile and a sexual predator.
However, to everyone’s surprise, Anu Malik has reportedly been approached to be a judge on Indian Idol 11. He will be joining Vishal Dadlani and Neha Kakkar, who are expected to return as judges on the show.
Singer Sona Mohapatra has slammed Sony TV and Indian Idol makers for considering Anu Malik to judge the upcoming season of the singing reality show. She expressed her disbelief in a series of tweets.
She wrote, “New York-based Danica D’Souza said that Anu Malik’s predatory behaviour was commonplace during Indian Idol shoots and ‘higher-ups’ were aware of it but chose to turn a blind eye. (As per reports, this pervert has been re-instated by @sonytv ?).”
“Because women & their pain don’t matter? @IndiaMeToo . @SonyTV ,Not one but many many women publicly shared their stories of being sexually harassed by this man.Ranged from teenagers barely 15 years old to much older women.His predatory ways are an open secret in the industry,” Sona Mohapatra wrote on her Twitter account.
When Anu Malik was asked if the makers of Indian Idol 11 had approached him to join back as a judge, he replied, “Right now, I am at a recording. All I can say at this point of time…no comments.”
According to a source, the auditions will begin soon. There is no confirmation whether the makers will bring back Anu on the show or not, but Vishal Dadlani and Neha Kakkar are expected to return and perform their judging duties in the upcoming season of Indian Idol.
