Q: We have heard you are coming out with your new album soon?
A: Yes you heard right. It will be my third individual album and will be a surprise for people. You are definitely going to see a different Abhijeet Sawant from what you have seen before.

The music company Sony BMG has worked a lot on my appearance and look. I look a mature singer with stronger singing skills. The music is composed by Mithoon Sharma. The work is finished and at present we are working on the title.

Q: Which are the films other than 'Aashique Banaya Apne', you have play backed in?
A: Well, I play backed for 'Jawani Diwani' and also for 'Naughty Boy' which starred Rahul Roy. I have also sung for 'Mumbai.com' which is ready for release. Then there were also 2-3 Marathi films and also one Nepali film.

Q: So, what have you been up to post winning the Indian Idol title in 2005?
A: For every singer the main source of work and of course income too, comes from live shows. Post winning the Indian Idol, my first year was totally packed. Sometimes I used to come home once in two months. I have done shows in almost every country of the world.

Say, bigger places like US, UK, Canada and smaller ones like Maldives, Bangladesh & Nepal. The response was phenomenal when I was with Himesh Reshammiya. I was with him for one and a half months.

Q: You will be releasing your 3rd album after 2 years. Why did it take too long?
A: Well, from the beginning I have decided not to rush anything. This exhausts the energy within. Generally in India the life of a pop singer is not more than 3-4 years because they lose the exclusivity. I just don't want to hog limelight. In a way to retain exclusivity I am going to maintain a gap of two years while releasing my new albums.

Q: Did you act in any TV shows?
A: Frankly speaking I got many offers from TV producers but I am not interested in television at all. In the beginning, i.e post Indian Idol some producers were trying to just en-cash on my new found popularity. But yes, if something interesting comes from Bollywood I am definitely going to consider it seriously. Otherwise I am very much busy in my singing career now.

Q: To what extent you were benefited from Indian Idol?
A: I had never ever thought of such popularity. You know my first album 'Yaron' had sold over 10 lakh copies worldwide. It was like getting name and fame in a drastic way. Otherwise before Indian Idol, for four years, I was struggling hard to get work.

Q: Abhijeet, none of winners or contestants of Indian Idol 2 is in news. Do you think you were lucky enough because you were the first Indian Idol?
A: Obviously! I was definitely very lucky to be the fist Indian Idol. I am very grateful to God for this.

Q: Instead of concentrating on your singing career you took up this RJ's job on Big 92.7 FM. What is your focus exactly?
A: Oh it was just out of curiosity. I was always curious to see what RJs do and how they perform. It was a three-month contract with BIG FM which has ended recently. I would say that it helped me to enhance the structure of my voice and also added value to my personality.

In facts radio helps in attracting people and we artists come closer to our fans. Even I used to get SMS from audience saying they are waiting for my show. Altogether it was a wonderful experience. Talking about my focus, it definitely is singing.

Q: What kind of offers did you get post Indian Idol?
A: As I said before there were more silly offers than serious ones. I got offers from people who don't even know what cinema is. They were just businessmen who wanted to make films or albums with me. I even got some offers from very good banners but they wanted me to surrender my exclusivity to them.

Like one offer had a clause which prevented me to make any public appearance after winning Indian Idol for a year. They intended to launch me in a different way in their films. At the same time I also went to meet some big music composers for work. They were very nice with me and gave me assurances.

Q: Is it that much easy for an aspiring singer what everyone thinks if he / she wins any such talent hunt?
A: If anybody thinks this way, he/she is totally ignorant about the functioning of this industry. See, winning any title like Indian Idol only matters for the common public not for the industry bigwigs.

They don't care for any idol or any contest winner. For them you are just like other singers in the industry. It depends on how you promote your talent and market yourself.

Q: What is best thing that happened to you after you became Indian Idol?
A: There are many but for me the best thing that happened is the happiness and well being of my parents. Life is settled now. I need not worry if I would be able to take good care of my mom and dad, as I was worried before Indian Idol.

Q: Tell us frankly, from these talent hunts, who is most benefited, the channel or the contestant?
A: I would say both. Just consider my example. I used to sing for mere 500 or 1000 bucks and today what I get is much more than ever expected. It is many many times more than my initial earnings.

An aspiring singer gets a good platform and the channel gets a good business. After all everyone is here to make profit. In a way the contestants can be more benefited because they don't have to give anything. In any situation they just get.

Q: Now Indian Idol 3 is going to start. What do you expect this time?
A: Well, there isn't any exclusivity anymore. The shows are similar on every channel almost. I feel these shows are here hardly for the next 3-4 years only.

Everyone thought Indian Idol 2 will be a hit as the first season but it wasn't. This time too I don't know how it is going to happen. If they work hard they will succeed otherwise I don't know. Actually I can't say it will be a hit or flop this time. Q: When are you getting married? Will you still deny the old news of your engagement with someone called Shilpa?
A: I can get married any time. May be this year or may be next. I think the right time has come. About my engagement, I am still going to deny that old news because it was totally false. She is just like a family friend as we lived together in the same society for 10 years. There is nothing more than a close friendly relation between us. (Laughs) You may see someone else as my wife. - (SAMPURN)