Salman Ali goes over the high points of his journey that won him a talent hunt show and a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh; also what the future holds
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 25, 2018)

After a fierce, 25-week competition, the 10 th season of Sony’s Indian Idol found its winner in Salman Ali from Mewat, Haryana. The singer bested fellow finalists Nitin Kumar, Ankush Bharadwaj, Neelanjana Ray and Vibhor Parashar to claim the top prize in the talent hunt contest. When asked if he had expected to win when he was auditioning for the show, Salman surprised with his confidence, saying, “Everyone participates in a competition to win, so yes, the intent was to win. But, I didn’t expect to get so much love from the viewers. They stood by my side all the way and helped me succeed.”

The 20-year-old singer goes on to reveal that although it was special to meet every celebrity who made an appearance on the reality show, interacting with the two Khans — Salman and Shah Rukh — was the high point in the journey for him. “If you ask me about a specific moment, meeting Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan was a dream come true. They liked my performance, joined me on the stage and even showered their blessings,” he beams.

Salman Ali says he wants to use the cash prize of Rs 25 lakh to give a boost to his singing career. “I want to work in Bollywood as a playback singer, and Vishal sir (Vishal Dadlani, one of the judges on the show) has promised to meet me soon to discuss a potential collaboration. You will get to hear about a development very soon. I want to take my voice to the entire country,” the singer asserts.

Besides Vishal, he is also full of gratitude for the other judge on the panel, Neha Kakkar. “Both Vishal sir and Neha helped me grow as a person, and I am grateful to them for their support,” he adds.

Ankush Bharadwaj, from Himachal Pradesh, was the runner-up and was awarded a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh.