Abhijeet Sawant says tag of being a reality show winner affected his career: ‘You need a godfather, singers don’t have power’

He said that this is a curse that plagues all reality show contestants, especially winners. He also theorised about why other former reality show names such as Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chauhan have had successful playback careers and not him.

He told Bollywood Hungama in Hindi, “The playback industry offers a lot of opportunities, but at the same time, you need guidance and a godfather. You have to understand, in this industry, singers don’t have much power. We don’t have any control. I remember a story, I was struggling after Indian Idol, and I went for a meeting at a studio. A large crowd gathered outside, and the music director had to come and see what all the commotion was about. It’s a strange situation to be in; on the one hand you’ve come asking for work, but on the other, people are desperate to catch a glimpse of you.”

Abhijeet said that often music directors would assume that he isn’t facing any problems at all. “This is the main issue. People are a little hesitant to accept reality show contestants, especially winners,” he said.

But when it was pointed out that others like him, such as Shreya Ghoshal and Sunidhi Chauhan, have been successful in the playback industry, Abhijeet said, “They came in the batch before Indian Idol. Even Kunal Ganjawala. Reality shows were very different back then. And their shows never became as big as Indian Idol… This is the baggage and pressure that I, especially, have had to go through.”

Abhijeet Sawant has sung playback for films such as Aashiq Banaya Aapne, Tees Maar Khan and Dishoom. His latest single is called “Tera Rishta,” which he performed with Shahzeb Tejani.