Indian Idol participants from the city claim the organisers have cheated them. Many aspiring singers who travelled to Mumbai from the city to fulfil their dreams were shocked to learn that a silent audition had already been conducted in the city to shortlist the “eligible” candidates and that the auditions held on May 19 were not genuine.

“We were made to stand on the open grounds of a school in Kandivili in Mumbai for more than six hours,” a parent of a 20-year-old participant said. “There was no arrangement of food or even seating made for us. My ward was not even given a fair chance to put forward her talent.”