by Subhash K Jha

He didn't quite make it to the winning post. But Indian Idol finalist Rahul Vaidya is doing remarkably well for himself.

By his own confession, he's making quite a lot of money. "I wouldn't like to say how much. But for an 18-year old it's quite a lot."

Though he regrets being eliminated from the final rounds of Indian Idol Rahul is doing very well for himself. "I do about ten to fifteen stage shows a month all over the country. Most of them are my solo acts. But often they are with the other Indian Idol finalists Amit Sana and Abhijeet Sawant."

He lights up at his colleagues' mention. "There was never any ill-will...never any effort to upstage each other. We were close friends throughout Indian Idol. And we're still in touch, though we've become busy with our individual careers."

Interestingly Rahul seems to be doing better for himself than the other Idol finalists and definitely better than the Fame Gurukul winners Qazi Tauqeer and Rooprekha who haven't clinched any playback singing deals.

Rahul has already sung two songs in David Dhawan's Shaadi No.1, a song each in Jigyasa: The Ambition and Kisse Pyar Karoon. His solo album Tera Intezar is just out. "And I've done an ad for Dabur with one of my role models Sonu Nigam. Earlier people used to recognize me as that guy on Indian Idol. Now they know me by the ad."

Rahul would like to go into acting. "But not right now. I won't just plunge into acting because I'm getting offers. I'll do it only when I'm prepared to face the camera. As far as I know only two singers Kishore Kumarji and Sonuji have turned actors. Maybe I'll be the third."

He seems to love the attention. "You know when I'm recognized on the streets I'm aware it's all because of Indian Idol. I'll always be grateful to Sony. Yes, I'm under contract with the company. But the contract isn't binding at all. As long as I serve as their brand ambassador they're happy to let me do anything I want, including stage shows."

The youngsters trained under singer Suresh Wadkar says his idols are Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. "I like their balanced attitude to life and career. I hope to achieve the same balance in my life...Right now it's just singing. I don't have a personal life. Unfortunately no girl friend!"