Raghu Ram, MTV Roadies fame was rejected on ‘Indian Idol’, asked judges not to be ‘rude'

It’s a lesser-known fact that Raghu Ram from ‘MTV Roadies’ had auditioned for ‘Indian Idol 1' (2003) but was rejected by judges Anu Malik, Farah Khan and Sonu Nigam.   

In the audition video shared on YouTube, Raghu was seen stretching before singing to which Farah Khan pointed out that he only had two minutes, out of which he wasted a minute on yoga. “I need to do this before I sing. Some people do alaap and all,” Raghu explained.   

He finally sang ‘Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo’ but the judges were not impressed. “Bohot kharab gaaya aapne. Yeh kya best hai aapka, jo gaana chuna hai?” Sonu asked, to which Raghu replied that he thought that the judges would appreciate the choice of song.  

Farah Khan roasted him by saying ‘The stretching and yoga was the best part of his singing.’ Even Anu Malik didn’t leave a chance to criticise him. “Achcha, lekin aapne jo stretching ki, uske bavajood bhi aapki stretching aapke sur tak nahi pohochi,” said Anu Malik.   

When Raghu asked if Anu Malik did not like his song, Anu replied, “Mere kehne ka matlab yeh hai ki aap gaa nahi sakte, mere hisaab se Mumbai nahi aa sakte.” Raghu really got agitated and replied, “toh aap ye baat tameez se bhi bol sakte hain.”  

When asked, Raghu Ram did not appreciate the rude tone of the judges. Ironically, Raghu is famous for his bad temper and ripping apart his contestants in during the auditions of ‘MTV Roadies.’   

Reportedly, Raghu Ram had later said in his memoir, Rearview: My Roadies Journey, that his ‘Indian Idol’ audition was a prank.