Indian Idol Winner Abhijeet Sawant Recalls Teenage Financial Struggle In Mumbai

Abhijeet Sawant, winner of the first season of the reality show Indian Idol, recently opened up about his early life struggles in Mumbai when he had only one rupee left in his pocket. Before winning the show and its one-crore-rupee cash prize, Sawant performed at small local shows and pandals, sometimes earning as little as one hundred rupees. In a recent interview with Filmygyan, the singer shared an incident from when he was just fifteen years old and trying to build a music career without family support. He had borrowed ten rupees from his mother for a bus ticket to a show, and after buying the ticket, he was left with just a single rupee. A technical issue caused his BEST bus to stop midway, leaving him unable to move forward or return home. He used his last coin at a phone booth to call an official from the show before the call disconnected abruptly. Stranded in Chembur with no money and no way to contact his family, the fifteen-year-old broke down in tears. A local shopkeeper noticed him crying, asked where he needed to go, and drove him half an hour to Mahul Gaon without charging any money.

Career After Indian Idol

Winning the first season of Indian Idol in 2004 dramatically changed Sawant's life and brought financial stability. He received the full prize money after tax deductions and deposited it in the bank, noting that money was never a problem for him or his family after that. The first season ended with Abhijeet Sawant as the winner, Amit Sana as the runner-up, and Rahul Vaidya in the third spot. Sawant mentioned that despite achieving financial security, he faced a career dip in 2008 due to a recession, and his search to create a separate identity remains ongoing. Following the show, the top three finalists pursued different paths in the entertainment industry. Abhijeet released albums, worked on playback singing, appeared on television, and recently finished as the runner-up on Bigg Boss Marathi Season 5. Amit Sana continued working as a multilingual singer and performer, while Rahul Vaidya released his debut album Tera Intezar in 2005, finished as runner-up on Bigg Boss 14, and participated in Khatron Ke Khiladi and Laughter Chefs.