Abhijeet Sawant

People are crazy about winning a reality shows. You are the hot favourite to win your second one. How do you feel?

It feels good. It feels good to be in another final. The first ever Indian Idol winner should have been in the top three of Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar. And I am there in the top three. The support and the love on the show have been phenomenal.

It’s your second reality show in four years. Are you happy with the way reality shows have evolved in India?

I am happy with the way this particular show has turned out. Of course, being a singer, you always feel that things could have been even better. That feeling is always there. Personally, I am very happy with my performances. At the time of Idol, people would say that Abhijeet could only sing romantic tracks and that he is a limited singer. I was happy to prove everyone wrong through this show. That was the highlight for me.

So it was a challenge for you?

Oh, it was a big challenge. The good thing was that my friends from Idol — Rahul, Amit, Prajakta — were there with me. And there were winners from the other big shows like Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and Voice of India. So if I didn’t participate people would have said that Abhijeet Sawant dar gaya. I didn’t want them to say that. Also, I wanted to use this platform to show people how I have improved in the last three years. I met a lot of music directors, singers and actors in this period but I didn’t get the kind of response I was expecting from them. Vishal told me that he had no idea that I had improved so much. Only this show could have made it possible.

You never felt that you were ahead of the competition from Day One?

A lot of my fans told me this when I was invited to participate in the show. They said you don’t need to compete again. The only singer who has done something on his own after winning a reality show has been Abhijeet Sawant. The others have struggled so far. But as I said, I wanted to showcase my singing at this level.

So are you confident of winning the title on Saturday night?

The nature of the show is very unpredictable. Very uncertain. I can tell you that I will sing very well but I can’t assure you I will win. That’s the way this show works. You can’t do anything about it. Whatever happens I will accept it. I am happy to have made it in the Top Three.

Why have you declared that this is your last reality show?

Doing more and more reality shows is like repeating yourself and stopping my own growth. One has to take risks and try his luck. I will try to do something different and not do the same thing for the next 10 years.

Are you feeling numb like you had felt two days before the Indian Idol final?

That time it was different because it was a life-changing show for me. Whatever would have happened that time, life would have never been the same. I remember I was so nervous that I could never imagine how it would be to actually win the title. Now, it’s about this competition. It’s just a new thing. Harshit’s chances are high because he is from the STAR family and he is a new star, born recently. So his image is fresh as opposed to me.

Harshit Saxena

It’s the final countdown. How do you feel?

I am feeling very good. It has been great to be a part of a show which had such talents. Personally, it’s been nice to have come all this way. Now, I just want to win the grand finale. That will fulfil my all-time dream of winning a talent show. I have never tasted victory. Maybe this time.

You have been in a similar situation before when you lost out to Ishmeet. Do you feel more confident this time?

Last time also I was very confident. Just that this time the level of the show is very different. The last show was tough but this time the bars have been raised even higher. Then it was about scouting fresh talent and all I wanted to do was display my talent in front of the world. Till today everyone says that I should have won. But when I joined Superstar, I was up against the best singers of the best reality shows on Indian television. And I have shown the world again, that I was no fluke and that I can sing well and am improving every day. But this time, I really want to win. I don’t want the same treatment to be meted out to me. I don’t want to lose to bad voting. I have broken records on the show, got the best comments from the judges. Now it’s time to win.

At that time you were the favourite. This time it’s Abhijeet…

Abhijeet is a very strong candidate and his greatest advantage is that he was the winner in the first ever reality show, at a time when no other such show came on air. Everyone was very involved with Indian Idol and everyone got to know Abhijeet real quickly. Woh junoon, woh paagalpan is not there today with so many similar shows coming on air. But it’s not that no one knows me. I have my own fan following. Anyone can win. Even Rahul can win. And who doesn’t want to become a Superstar? If you are talking about Abhijeet being good on the show, I have been the most consistent and got the most 30s. Also, I believe that the audience of this country would realise that they made a mistake last time by not voting for me and rectify it this time by making me win.

Have you been able to garner more votes sitting there in Mumbai?

My family, of course, is voting for me and putting in every effort possible. But it will boil down to the janta.

What about politicians in UP pressuring people to vote for you?

I have no knowledge about this but if people are doing such things, there’s love in that too. They have their own interest, I am sure. But if their votes make me win, I can only thank them.

Rahul Vaidya

You came third on Indian Idol 1 and you are one of the three finalists here. How does it feel?

I obviously feel on top of the world. It’s been a hard, tough and extremely emotional journey over a period of 14 weeks. The fact that I have left behind so many champions and broken into the top three gives me a high. I am just looking forward to the finale now. I am physically and mentally exhausted.

Did you have a set strategy over these 14 weeks or did you take each episode as it came?

There was no strategy as such because public voting plays a huge hand in deciding the fate of contestants. But I kept a close watch on my performance, on my looks, on the performances of the others. I did a lot of riyaaz. I picked the best songs I could. Since this show pitted the best against the best, I had to put in that extra effort.

At what stage of the contest did you think that you could break into the top three?

I always knew that I had the potential to make it. But reality shows are really unpredictable. Jisko rehna chahiye woh baahar ho jaata hai aur jisko jaana chahiye woh reh jaata hai. Initially it was tough, but as the show progressed, I realised that if I did everything right I could make it.

Does not having best friend Vineet Singh in the top 3 take the sheen off a little bit?

It does to a great extent. Vineet is a really close friend of mine, he is like my kid brother. Even when we were shooting for the promos before the show got on air, we always used to say that the two of us would definitely make it to the last stages of the contest. I was extremely shocked and upset when he was eliminated. Mujhe bahut bura lagaa. That is why more than ever now, I want to win Superstar. I want to win it for Vineet.

What do you think may give you an edge over Abhijeet and Harshit?

They are both immensely gifted singers and extremely popular too. What works for me definitely is the vast female following I enjoy, especially from Calcutta!

What happens if you don’t win?

Life simply goes on the way it did before Superstar. In fact, I have a lot coming up. I will soon be anchoring a dance reality show for STAR Plus. There is a second album coming up and I am even considering acting offers.

Priyanka Roy

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