Indian Idol comes to Abu Dhabi: Inside the show filmed in Yas Island that has been discovering singers for 2 decades

Dubai: After 20 years of discovering singing talent across India, Indian Idol, the iconic music reality show has finally packed its bags and gone international, and Gulf News was given exclusive access to it.

The reality show cast and crew landed in Abu Dhabi earlier this week to film special episodes at Yas Island set to air on February 21st and 22nd 2026, and if you ask the people involved, this is about far more than just a change of scenery.

In an interview with Gulf News, Vishal Dadlani, judge at the show, said filming in UAE was a crucial chapter for the hit talent hunt show.

"It's exciting to be here. It shows that Indian Idol reaches beyond the borders of India. It goes to the whole world," said Dadlani during the interview held at Warner Bros. World, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.

He also talks about what has kept spark in the show going for over 2 decades and what it means to be judge at Indian Idol.

"I don't really like the word judge"

For Dadlani, who has been a judge on Indian Idol for seven consecutive seasons since 2018, the role comes with a very particular kind of responsibility. That's a lot of singers, a lot of performances and presumably a lot of difficult decisions. But he's not entirely comfortable with the title.

"I love being a judge on Indian Idol because young talent always refreshes the musician in me," he explained. "But I also feel that it's not my place to judge. It's my place to guide. I would rather be a friend to them. Unfortunately, when you're sitting in that chair, it's a lot of responsibility. It's a prestigious platform, and I feel the responsibility of having to be correct and truthful to music at all times."

Last year Vishal announced retirement with reasons of "being stuck in Mumbai for six months every year" but the show forced him back.

"I still want to retire. They won't let me. They all threaten to show up at my home. In fact, they did show up at my home, dragged me back, now here I am," he said with a laugh and evidently a personal connection to the show.

That sense of duty extends to how he delivers feedback. "Someone who tells you why you're going wrong is a very precious person," he said. "But someone who discourages you is not. Someone who points out your mistakes and shows you how you can improve them is the most necessary person a musician can have in their life. So I try to be that."

It is a philosophy that clearly works. Dadlani has never been accused of cruelty on the show, instead building a reputation for honesty delivered with warmth and encouragement.

The contestants he still thinks about

Over seven seasons, Dadlani has seen hundreds of aspiring singers cross the Indian Idol stage. A few have left lasting impressions.

Salman Ali from the 2018 season remains unforgettable. "His voice is insane. That guy didn't drop off the entire season," Dadlani recalled. Sneha Shankar is another name he mentioned with particular enthusiasm. "Absolute magic on stage. She's going to be a mega star someday."

From last season, Priyanshu stood out, and this year Diwakar Choubey has been on fire from day one, according to Dadlani. "Everyone else has had to raise their level because of him," he said, gesturing with his hands how Diwakar has raised the bar.

A special guest joins the judges

For the Abu Dhabi episodes, acclaimed playback singer and composer Madhubanti Bagchi appears as a special guest judge. Known for her versatility and for lending her voice to hits such as Aaj Ki Raat, Peelings and Shararat, Bagchi admitted she found the experience both exciting and intimidating.

"Judging someone itself is very difficult for me," she spoke to Gulf News. "But I feel it's not so much judgement. If I can help out a couple of young kids who are trying to do the same thing I was trying to do a few years back, and if I can give them suggestions to help them become better playback singers, that's what I'm here to do."

She also spoke about what it means for the contestants to be performing outside their home country. "When you're finally out of Mumbai and you've come to a whole different country with different culture and everything is different, it brings out a different kind of artistic expression from everybody," she said.

When asked whether she is a rollercoaster person she said, "I'm actually afraid of heights to be honest, but yeah, I love watching people going through them from a distance where I'm like, 'great for your guys'"

How a 20-year-old show stays fresh

Indian Idol has been on air as long as some of its contestants have been alive, which raises an obvious question: how does it stay fresh?

For Dadlani, the answer is straightforward. "It's the contestants, honestly. Any show, any season, it's the contestants that really bring the magic. The judges are just guides. The newness, the freshness, the light in the eyes comes from the contestants."

He paused before adding: "That's my favourite thing about Indian Idol: meeting the young singers. To feel like I have this whole world to conquer is a magical thing."

Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, when basically everything shut down, Indian Idol kept filming. The production team created bubbles, found workarounds and kept the show going because, as Dadlani put it, they felt a responsibility to keep bringing joy into people's lives. It's a surprisingly earnest thing to say, but he clearly meant it.

Music as healing

At one point during our conversation, Dadlani said something that could have sounded cheesy but somehow didn't: "Music is the strongest healing force we have in the world, and the world needs healing."

His own relationship with music is sweeping and genuinely generous. "I have a strange and generalised love for music. There's no music that I don't love. All of it is my music. I love hip-hop and Latin music and Indian music and classical Western music."

Then he said something that perfectly summed up his whole vibe: "It's like asking a fish what do you think of water. It's what I live in."

The Indian Idol Yas Island special episodes will air exclusively on Sony Entertainment Television and stream on Sony LIV on February 21st and 22nd 2026 at 8pm.

Areeba Hashmi is a trainee at Gulf News.