Was overwhelmed & numb after result: Indian Idol winner
A friend suggested that as I am a good singer, I should try and audition for Indian Idol. I did and got through. I had to borrow money to come to Mumbai.
SUNNY HINDUSTANI ,
Indian Idol winner
Mumbai:television often weaves a beautiful world of dreams and gets them into your drawing room turning the magical world into reality. And reality shows play a huge part in turning the common man’s unachievable dream into a beautiful reality.
That is exactly what happened to Sunny Hindustani, a young boy from Bathinda in Punjab. From polishing shoes for a living and humming and singing to himself while at work, Sunny got the bright spotlight on him by winning the season 11 of Indian Idol.
“I was overwhelmed and numb on stage,” says Sunny, the winner of the singing reality show, who felt ecstatic about his victory, especially when they announced his name. “I felt it could be a joke for the finale, but it was for real. I am feeling so happy that I am unable to describe my happiness in words. It is indescribable,” he says. He was awarded a cheque for ₹25 lakh, a car and one song contract with T-series for their next movie.
Earlier, Sunny had participated in another TV show, Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega, and sang in a chorus. “A friend suggested that as I am a good singer, I should try and audition for Indian Idol. I did and I got through. I had to borrow money to and come to Mumbai,” says Sunny. He was fond of music since childhood and enjoyed singing at religious events, especially qawwalis. And that’s where he started following the late singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
He says his father, too, used to sing at fairs besides polishing shoes outside the bus stand. “After he passed away in 2014, my mother would run the house by selling balloons and doing odd jobs. I took up the boot polishing work to lend her a helping hand. I had to let go of shame and help my mother, which was my goal. Now, I want to give her everything she wants and deserves and fulfil her dreams,” says Sunny, a Class 6 dropout.
Though he was working as a shoe polisher, his love for music never abated. He kept singing, learning songs by listening to them on the phone while dreaming of giving his mother a better life. “I was quite nervous yet excited after I cleared the audition. There was a lot of pressure on me and a lot of expectations as well. As the show is a competition, it was nerve-wracking to clear every stage of the show. Today, I can’t be thankful enough to everyone who helped me get here.”
Even before he became the winner, Sunny made his playback singing debut with Emraan Hashmi’s “The Body”, where he lent his voice to the track “Rom Rom”. Music composer Himesh Reshammiya, too, signed Sunny for a song in filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi’s upcoming film.