Sunny Hindustani from Punjab’s Bathinda has won the 11th edition of Indian Idol, along with the prize money of Rs2.5 million (Dh128,205), a car and a singing contract with T-Series.
The grand finale of the Sony Entertainment Television’s singing reality show culminated with much fanfare and aplomb on Sunday with Sunny Hindustani beating four finalists — Rohit Raut, Adriz Ghosh, Ankona Mukherjee and Ridham Kalyan.
Ecstatic and overwhelmed with his win, Hindustani said, “I had never thought of clearing the first round in the beginning. I have come a long way and can’t believe that the journey has just started. From getting the opportunity to sing on such a big platform to winning the show it is like a dream.”
The finale was nothing short of a visual spectacle with judges Neha Kakkar, Vishal Dadlani and Himesh Reshammiya setting the stage on fire with scintillating performances to Bollywood chartbusters.
The finale also saw celebrities like Ayushmann Khurrana, Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Gajraj Rao, Anup Soni, Tony, and Sonu Kakkar.
While the first and second runners-up — Rohit and Ankona — got Rs500,000 each, Ridham and Adriz who finished at fourth and fifth positions respectively were awarded Rs300,000 each.
“I will always be thankful to the judges for mentoring and guiding me. I express my gratitude to Sony Entertainment Television for giving me a platform to perform in front of legends of the music industry and an opportunity to meet so many stars. I can’t believe that the whole of India heard my voice and voted for me wholeheartedly to make me Desh ki Awaaz (voice of the nation),” said Hindustani.
