At 15, he was stranded in Mumbai with just Rs 1 in his pocket. Years later, he won Rs 1 crore on Indian Idol. Bollywood singer now claims he was more popular than Arijit Singh

Abhijeet Sawant became a household name after he won the first season of Indian Idol in 2005. He won millions of hearts with his soulful voice and charming stage presence. He stepped into Bollywood playback singing with energetic tracks like Mar Jaawan Mit Jaawan and later released independent studio albums such as Junoon and Farida. Recently, the singer opened up about his early struggles and how he was more popular than Arijit Singh.

Abhijeet Sawant on his journey before Indian Idol

Abhijeet Sawant has spoken about the financial struggles he faced before finding fame on Indian Idol. At the time, he performed at small local events to find work and earn money. He said his family did not support him financially, so even small payments helped him manage.

He told Filmygyan, "Before Indian Idol, I would do these small shows. At that time, I was literally struggling to get into the industry, and the situation was such that money crunch was always there. My family didn’t support me, so I would do very small shows,” he recalled.




He added that he sometimes performed at local pandals, where even earning Rs 100 was important to him.

One such incident happened when Abhijeet was just 15. He borrowed Rs 10 from his mother to travel to a show. After buying his bus ticket, he was left with just Re 1. However, the BEST bus developed a technical problem and stopped midway, leaving him stranded in Mumbai.

With no money to continue his journey or return home, Abhijeet used his last rupee at a phone booth to call the show organisers and tell them he could not make it. “I was only 15 years old when I was stranded in an area like Chembur, Mumbai,” he recalled.

A shopkeeper eventually noticed him crying and asked where he wanted to go. After hearing his story, the man offered to help and dropped him at Mahul Gaon without charging him anything.

Abhijeet said, "Then I realised that someone is always watching you and protecting you, that power exists. That man drove me for half an hour and dropped me at the village, and didn’t charge a single penny."

However, the singer's financial situation changed after he won the first season of Indian Idol. The reality show premiered in 2004, with Abhijeet, Amit Sana and Rahul Vaidya emerging as the top three contestants. Abhijeet won the competition, while Amit finished second and Rahul came third. He said the winner’s prize money was Rs 1 crore at the time, which he received after tax deductions and deposited in the bank. He added that the win helped ease his family’s financial problems.

Abhijeet Sawant compares journey to Arijit Singh

Besides this, Abhijeet also opened up about different trajectories of his and Arjit Singh's music careers following their 2005 reality show appearances.

He said, "After 2005, Arijit stayed away from the limelight. For at least 10 years, call it a blessing in disguise, he went to the music studios and he worked with all the major music composers, not as a singer but as a producer, as a programmer."

“If you compare him and me at that time, I was very popular, but he wasn't. So the kind of pressure that I faced was very different than the pressure that he was facing. He worked a lot for those 10 years, and worked a lot with musicians and then he got his first big song,” he further added.

This year, on January 27, Arijit announced on social media that he would not take any new assignments as a playback vocalist.