By now, most of us have probably seen at least one episode of Indian Idol 4 and maybe even have a favourite or two among contestants. But clearly, the show is not all about the contestants. In fact, one can go to the extent of saying that the contestants are just an excuse for the real drama of the show— the mock fights between Anu Malik and Javed Akhtar. Malik’s snappy barbs violate one’s sense of kindness and the social norm of “being nice,” while Akhtar’s caustic retorts make you wonder if he is the same person who has penned those saccharine sweet songs.

In all this drama however, co-judge Kailash Kher, is almost lost. “I try to be as sane as possible. My aim is to be a good mentor to the contestants,” says Kher who was in the city to perform for the Indian Idol concert at Nicco Park this Tuesday.

He might take his role as a judge seriously, but that doesn’t mean he can’t take a joke or two in his stride. When told that the popular perception is that only jobless celebrities choose to be reality show judges nowadays, he retorts by saying- “What do you mean by popular perception? I have a feeling that just few of you journalists get together and concoct these labels and pass it off as popular perception,” he laughs. “People like AR Rahman too have judged reality shows, would you say he is jobless too? Today, television is a big draw. Everyone wants to be part of it,” he says

He has a few grudges against the media too. “You guys don’t know the kind of power you have. You can write almost anything and get away with it. A Mumbai daily recently carried a fictional story about my supposed marriage and I got congratulatory messages form the remotest corners of the country,” he says.

As a mentor and a judge, he advises the contestants of the show to not be carried away by the glamour. “It’s easy to be greedy for success. Especially when there are so many avenues to achieve it as there are now. One has to keep ones’ feet firmly grounded to last in this industry,” he states.

2009, is an important year for him. “ I have sung songs for big films like Rang Rasiyan, Delhi 6 (with A R Rahman), Kaminey (A Vishal Bharadwaj film),” he says.