The latest season of Indian Idol concluded with Manasi Ghosh crowned the winner. But not everyone is celebrating. The finale saw six talented voices compete for the title, Manasi Ghosh, Sneha Shankar, Subhajit Chakraborty, Chaitanya Devadhe (Mauli), Priyangshu Dutta, and Anirudh Suswaram. While viewers were cheering, not all finalists were content. One of them, Anirudh Suswaram, has now spoken up. His words reveal a different side of the stage, one far from the lights and applause.
Anirudh shared his disappointment openly, pointing out what he called unfair treatment by the production team. He reflected on his time on the show as a personal battle. He said, “Since I was in a war (competition), I had fought it, not expressing anything until I was on the show.”
He explained that his song placements were often manipulated. According to him, songs assigned to him were scheduled in such a way that he rarely got to perform before celebrity guests. His appearances were kept minimal, and even when he was included, the timing seemed intentional, often skipped or pushed to later parts of the episode.
Anirudh revealed that he had raised questions whenever he noticed these issues. But his questioning, he felt, triggered further bias. He believes that this treatment might have come because someone’s ego was hurt. From his perspective, the editing, the choice of songs, the arrangements, all were tweaked to undermine his presence. He claimed that even during shoot days, his songs were positioned in the background, affecting how much visibility he got on-screen.
In another post, he revealed something more startling. According to him, the audio of his finale performance was not mixed. He took this as a bittersweet moment, saying that at least the audience got to hear his raw, real voice. He appeared to hold on to that silver lining amidst the chaos.
He wasn’t alone in feeling wronged. Fellow contestant Adya Mishra commented on his post, echoing similar frustrations. Her own performance, she said, had been entirely cut from the broadcast. Adya had received a standing ovation and was initially given the Golden Buzzer, a moment of pride. But that moment didn’t make it to air.
She explained that after her buzzer moment, the team stopped the shoot and claimed it was a mistake. The emotion behind her words was hard to ignore. She wrote, “They cut my performance dude! I got a standing ovation, they cut the whole part and I even got the golden buzzer, but then they stopped the show, Said galti se ho gaya and gave it to Vaibhav on the request of The production!”
Adya also opened up about the emotional toll it took on her mental health. She admitted that the experience still affects her and wished karma would take its course. She ended her comment with a message of hope.
While the show celebrated its finale with grandeur, these behind-the-scenes accounts from contestants have cast a shadow on its credibility. The glittering stage may showcase dreams, but these voices now question whether those dreams are truly allowed to shine or merely shaped by scripts and silent decisions.