
Indian Idol 12 winner is Pawandeep Rajan. The talented singer won the 12-hour grand finale of the show on Sunday with Arunita Kanjilal and Sayli Kamble as runners-up.
To celebrate the successful show, the makers have planned a 12-hour long finale. Starting 12 pm, the musical extravaganza with the six finalists — Pawandeep Rajan, Arunita Kanjilal, Nihal Tauro, Sayli Kamble, Mohd Danish and Shanmukhapriya enthralling the audience with their performances.
Apart from the ex-contestants, the ‘Greatest Finale Ever’ also saw several guests cheering the finalists. Shershaah actors Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani shot with the Indian Idol 12 team for the special episodes. Popular singers Javed Ali, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik and Sukhvinder Singh also graced the stage.
To boost the contestants’ confidence, south star Vijay Deverkonda sent a video message telling them how much he enjoys Indian Idol. Also, the Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2 lead pair Nakuul Mehta and Disha Parmar made an appearance during the finale.
Earlier, talking exclusively to indianexpress.com, director Neeraj Sharma shared that the team is looking forward to creating history with Indian Idol Season 12. Stating that they always had ‘big plans’ for the finale, he said, “If there was no pandemic, we would have hosted the finale in a big stadium, and we are confident it would have been a sold-out show. This season has been loved so much and given it’s the last episode, we wanted to do something really special, and thus the 12-hour episode came in place.”
Talking about the season, the director further shared that even though it was the longest, they still feel that it could have run for a few more months. “The high ratings also prove that the audience is still hooked on to the show. This is going to be the last time they see their favourites perform, and we hope they really like the finale episode,” added Neeraj.
While the team has already pre-recorded chunks of the long episode, the winner announcement happened live at midnight. The Greatest Grand Finale Ever saw Jay Bhanushali co-host the show with the original anchor Aditya Narayan. The current judges Anu Malik, Himesh Reshammiya and Sonu Kakkar also performed during Indian Idol 12 finale.
Pawandeep Rajan-Arunita Kanjilal fans have shared a video where the two can be seen hugging as they congratulated each other for their win.
The Great Khali shared a photo from the Indian Idol 12's finale.
Abhijeet Sawant, in his interview to India.com also addressed the fact that Arunita Kanjilal’s fans are upset and disappointed. He said, "It always happens. People who support different contestants, definitely feel sad or disheartened. But the trophy has to go to one of the contestants. It does not make sense to disappoint on this or to say it should have been a tie."
Indian Idol 1 winner Abhijeet Sawant congratulated Pawandeep Rajan for the win. The singer welcomed Pawandeep to the winners’ family of Indian Idol and said that he had expected this result. In an interview to India.com, Abhijeet Sawant said, "I want to wish him good luck. I was expecting that he will win the show and he won the show. It’s great, the kind of caliber he has, I am happy in welcoming him in Indian Idol winners’ family."
Indian Idol Season 12 winner Pawandeep Rajan, and runners-ups Arunita Kanjilal and Sayli Kamble posed for a click.
Himesh Reshammiya's wife and actor Sonia Kapoor shared a click of the singer with Indian Idol winner Pawandeep and wrote, "Congratulations on the blockbuster success of the longest and the biggest show #indianidol ❤️❤️my rockstar @realhimesh and pawnu @pawandeeprajan , our songs @himeshreshammiyamelodies #tere bagairr and #Teriiumeed are rocking the charts with millions of views and audio streams , many more to come ❤️❤️."
Sharing a clip from Indian idol 12's grand finale, Himesh Reshammiya wrote, "The winning moment @pawandeeprajan ❤️ super show super talent , #love."
Ashish Kulkarni shared a click of Pawan and wrote, "Kya kahan tha maine? Trophy ghar aa gayi!! Congratulations dada @pawandeeprajan !"
Indian Idol 12 contestant Samyak Prasana shared a click with the winner and wrote, "Wohooo! Lets goo🥳 CONGRATULATIONS Pawan bhaiyaaa❤️ @pawandeeprajan."
Aditya Narayan shared a click with the Indian Idol 12 finalists and wrote, "Undoubtedly the best finalists ever! Congratulations: @pawandeeprajan 🥇 Well deserved winner. @arunitakanjilal 🥈 The joint winner alongside Pawan IMHO @saylikamble_music 🥉Second runner up on the greatest season ever. No small feat! @mohd.danish.official @nihal_tauro_official & @shanmukhapriya_1925 you have inspired a new generation of musical aspirants to strive for excellence."
Musician Neeraj Kalkar shared a click with the Indian Idol 12 contestants and wrote, "Haan! Kuch der mein humsab juda ho jaaenge per Jaldi humsab milenge zaroor; 2067 mein waise bhi hum sabko milna hi hai, usse pehle bhi aap sabke concerts; award functions mein milenge. Khub aage badho naam kamaao aur hamesha khush raho. Thank u so much for the immortal journey of Indian Idol XII."
Runners-up Sayli Kamble shared a click with her trophy and wrote, "My baby is in my hand..I promise to take care of you for the rest of my life..❤️ Thank you all my well wishers for your love and support..aap sabhi ke vajah se mein aaj yaha hun.. sabhi ko bohot pyaar aur dhanywaad.. Humesha aisehi mere saath rahiyega.. love you #IdolSayli."
Indian Idol 12 contestant Sireesha Bhagavatula shared a photo with winner Pawandeep post the grand finale. "Congratulations Rockstar @pawandeeprajan 🎊," she wrote along.
Indian Idol 12 contestant Anushka Banerjee shared a click with the winner Pawandeep and wrote, "Congratulations @pawandeeprajan bhaiya!!!!🎉❤️ You deserve everything you've received & are yet to receive✨ You go "pawanu" bhaiyaaaaa 😁💛."
Pawandeep shared, "It’s an unmatched feeling to be holding the trophy. However, given the close bond we formed over the past few months, I wanted each one of us to win. I wish I could share the trophy with all my five other finalists. It’s a very mixed feeling for me right now. I know that everyone is so talented that we will all forge great careers soon. We will also be collaborating together whenever we get a chance."
While the contestants shared a warm bond, Pawandeep’s close friendship with Arunita Kanjilal led to speculation of a budding romance. The two have, however, time and again maintained that they are just good friends. On being asked what did his bestie tell him after his big win, Pawandeep smiled, “We haven’t got much time to speak but on the stage, Arunita said congratulations and that she is really happy for me.” READ MORE
Annup Sonii shared a click with Indian Idol 12 winner Pawandeep and wrote, "Congratulations Pawandeep for winning the #indianidol season 12 Trophy🤗❤️🤗 Well deserved...Good Luck for your journey ahead👍👍👍
@pawandeeprajan."
"In such unprecedented times, the team collectively went all their way to put up a good show. And that would not have happened if we did not believe in good music and content," Indian Idol 12 host Aditya Narayan told indianexpress.com.
Read more here.
Pawandeep Rajan won a cheque of Rs 25 lakh.
While Pawandeep Rajan won the 12-hour grand finale of Indian Idol 12 on Sunday, Arunita Kanjilal and Sayli Kamble were runners-up.