"I tried to take the trolls with a pinch of salt."
Shanmukhapriya has been on the receiving end of criticism after her performance on Indian Idol 12.
The 17-year-old contestant performed Shravan Rathod’s ‘Humko Sirf Tumse Pyaar Hai’, however, it did not go down well with the viewers.
Some viewers slammed her rendition and called for her to be eliminated from the show.
Shanmukhapriya has now responded to the trolls, revealing that she takes online hate with a pinch of salt.
She explained that she only came to know about the trolling after her fans informed her.
In an interview with Yo! Vizag, Shanmukhapriya said:
“I came to know about the happenings only after a few of my well-wishers reached out to me.
“I tried to take the trolls with a pinch of salt.”
The teenager’s mother, Ratnamala, also gave her opinion on the situation. She said:
“Shanmukha is trying to experiment with genres.
“As far as the choice of songs is concerned, all the contestants in Indian Idol perform the tracks given to them by the showrunners.
“Despite receiving criticism, she has been fortunate to get double the love and affection from the viewers.”
Shanmukhapriya went on to say that she is grateful for the fans.
She stated that even music legends like Michael Jackson have had to bear criticism.
She said that all she knows is music and that she is on Indian Idol 12 because she enjoys singing and performing.
Shanmukhapriya explained that she wants her work to speak for itself.
She added that she will try her best to showcase her skills in the coming rounds.
Indian Idol 12 has been in the headlines for controversial reasons.
It started on a special tribute episode to Kishore Kumar. His son Amit Kumar appeared on the show as a guest.
However, he was not impressed, revealing that he did not like the tribute to his father.
Amit also claimed that the makers told him to praise the contestants, regardless of their performance.
Host Aditya Narayan was also criticised after he aimed a dig at Amit in another episode.
He later addressed the criticism, saying the contestants are learning to receive and handle criticism at an early stage of their careers.
Aditya said: “They are getting to know the harsh reality of the world outside the reality show.
“As their fans grow, so will the critics. It is inevitable.”
He added that the show is “the no.1 reality show for 26 weeks running”.