Singing to Swiss climes

Abhijeet Sawant, 24, is already busy recording his first album and is looking for a ?free week? to fly off to Switzerland with his family. He spoke to Pratim D. Gupta about life before and after the Indian Idol title

Abhijeet Sawant greets a young admirer during a road show

What were your first reactions when you were declared Indian Idol?

I didn?t feel anything. I was rather shocked for the first two minutes after Mini (Mathur) announced my name as the winner. Then I just hugged Amit (Sana), the runner-up.

What did Amit tell you after you won?

He told me to take care of myself and to take care of my voice.

Did you feel bad for him that he couldn?t make it?

No, I didn?t feel bad for Amit. He may not have become the Indian Idol but he, too, has got a great platform. He is getting a whole lot of opportunities. He will also become a big name in the world of music in the next couple of years.

Did you ever seriously believe you could go on to win the title?

I never thought things would happen this way. My whole idea of participating in the contest was to get some amount of recognition for my singing abilities.

What has Indian Idol taught you from the day of the audition to the day of victory?

This whole journey has been a very big experience for me. What I learnt from the competition is very simple ? if you put in the same perseverance for everything you do, big or small, you will surely succeed at the end of it all.

What does the prize money of Rs 1 crore mean to you?

One crore rupees is a huge thing for my family. My dad?s income is less than two lakh rupees per annum. So you can very well realise how big the money is for us.

Going back to the contest, which were your happiest moments?

There were two of them. Once when we all sang together for the tsunami victims and again, when we sang the AIDS song on the final episode.

I felt that through music we could do something not just for ourselves but for our country.

What was the experience of meeting Richard Gere?

I didn?t know how to talk to him. He is such a big Hollywood star. So I was a bit sceptical as to how he will react to us. But he turned out to be very friendly. He was so happy to learn how AIDS conscious we all were. I promised him to do my bit for spreading the AIDS awareness programme that the Richard Gere Foundation aims to start. I also went and met many AIDS-affected kids at a HIV Care Home in Delhi.

So where do you go from here?

I want to sing playback and also make a foray into Indipop music. But it is playback where I really want to make a mark, because singing playback involves more feelings.

I want to work with the likes of Anu Malik, A.R. Rahman and Ismail Durbar. I would love to sing for Shah Rukh Khan.

What was your family?s reaction to your win?

I haven?t yet been able to meet my parents after I won. Immediately after the win, I have started to record my new album. I could only speak to them on the phone and my mother just told me: ?You have made all of us so proud!?

How is the album coming on?

I have already recorded four of the seven songs in the album. The music has been composed by Biddu and the lyrics have been written by Sameer. The album has a nice mix of romantic and peppy numbers.

And when do you get to go on the Swiss holiday?

As soon as I get a week off. Then I will be off to Switzerland with my family.