Abhijeet Sawant: “Winning Indian Idol has been my biggest achievement.”

 When Abhijeet Sawant sings, everyone listens. From Shy to Shining, Abhijeet Sawant has come a long way. 8 years after his win, he visits Xavier Institute of Communications and opens up to journalism students about his career and life.

Q. Did you always wanted to become a singer?

A. My uncle was an orchestra singer. I got inspired by his popularity. There is some kind of spark when you meet a star. That spark made me go for it.

Q. Share with us any of your fan experiences as an Indian Idol.

A. There are so many fan experiences that even I forgot. A girl who had the same surname as me used to message me. She considered me as her inspiration and dedicated me the medal she won in a rifle shooting championship.

Q. . You came third in the Asian idol, tell us about your experience.

 A. Idol is a brand. They have Singapore Idol, Malaysian Idol, Indonesian Idol and two more Idol. The experience was very good. I loved the vibe, atmosphere and their craze for singers is more compared to that in India. I was not comfortable with the platform. The format was different. People had to vote for two people instead of one. The winner was the second preference of the audience.

Q. In the last 5 years, there has been only one female Indian Idol winner. Do you think they are biased?

A. I don't think so but girls vote more in comparison to guys.

Q. Do you think that shows like Junior Indian Idol put kids under pressure?

A. Today everyone is under pressure. I don't want kids to experience stress. They don't know why they are taking stress. There is a difference between artificially ripening a raw mango and a naturally ripened mango.

Q. What is your biggest achievement apart from winning Indian Idol?

A. Winning Indian Idol has been my biggest achievement so far. My other achievement is of making my friends, mom and dad happy. My dad used to be tensed as I was bad in studies but now he is happy.

Q. Are shows like Coke Studio helping people?

A. Coke Studio is a professional show and you can’t compare it with other musical reality shows. Musical reality shows are giving a platform to new talents to perform while Coke Studio is giving talented people a chance to show their talent.