Nineteen years ago, a young singer from Bihar walked off the stage of the reality show Indian Idol after being voted out of the competition. As she stood there, disappointed but dignified, host Mini Mathur offered a prediction that would stay with her for nearly two decades.
“One day, the whole country will be humming your songs”.
Today, that prophecy appears to have come true.
Deepali Sahay, whose soulful voice has become the heart of Tere Paas Main from Imtiaz Ali's Main Vaapas Aayunga, is suddenly everywhere. The song, composed by Oscar-winning musician A. R. Rahman and written by Irshad Kamil, has struck a chord with listeners, flooding social media feeds and inspiring countless reels.
For Deepali, however, the success is more than a viral moment. It is the culmination of a journey marked by patience, persistence and an unwavering belief in her craft.
“I knew one thing for sure," she tells The Telegraph Online. "I can work really hard and I'm not someone who would give up so easily."
That determination would eventually lead her to an unexpected message.
On January 6 this year — a date that happens to be both her birthday and Rahman's birthday — she received a message on Instagram from the composer's team. Rahman wanted to record her voice for a song.
For an artist who describes herself as “an outsider with no Bollywood connections”, it felt almost “surreal”.
Soon, she was flying to Chennai to record at Rahman’s studio. Over the following months, the song evolved through multiple drafts before becoming the version audiences hear today.
Although she had already recorded the song, she hadn't actually met him during the Chennai sessions because he was travelling in the United States. When they finally crossed paths in Mumbai a couple of months later, Deepali was too shy to approach him.
Rahman solved the problem himself. “He called my name and said, ‘Hey Deepali, come, come with me’,” she recalls. Then came a sentence she still remembers vividly. “The song has come out really beautiful,” Rahman told her.
For Deepali, that simple acknowledgment brought immense satisfaction.
When Rahman later appeared on Indian Idol 16 and picked Tere Paas Main as one of his favourite songs from the film, Deepali found herself overwhelmed.
“I started crying,” she says. “It felt like life had completed a full circle. If someone had told me 19 years ago that this day would come, I wouldn't have believed it”.
As for why Tere Paas Main has resonated so strongly with listeners, Deepali is quick to credit Rahman and lyricist Irshad Kamil. “The combination is deadly,” she said.
Yet she also believes audiences may be responding to something unique in her voice — a tonal quality that reminds listeners of an earlier era of playback singing. She describes it as a texture that is increasingly uncommon today and perhaps one that gives the song its distinctive emotional flavour.
“It's a huge break. It's the biggest break any artist would ever like. I start off with that dream. You know, after 19 years of Indian Idol, I sang a Rahman song. So, I really look forward to a lot of opportunities in future,” she signs off.