I owe my success to my guru

It has been months since he was crowned the champ of Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa challenge 2005 but Debojit is still on a high.
“My wife and I left our jobs in Assam so I could pursue a career in playback singing in Mumbai,” says Debojit of his great gamble. Luckily for him, a string of co-incidences led him to his guru, As Karan Sharma. “At a time, when I was facing serious financial trouble, he charged me a mere Rs 500 per month as fees. He is my God. I owe everything to him.”
Success and fame have not blinded Debo, as he is fondly called by friends, as he is focusing more on the North-East, “I owe my victory to those people who voted me as the voice of India,” he says. In the same breath he adds, “During the show, I was under the impression that people in the other parts of the country were not voting for me but when I performed live in Delhi with Vinit just before the finals, I was taken aback by the number of supporters I had here.”
Debojit is currently promoting his debut album, Debojit, that features mostly new songs. Only two, O Humdum Suniyo Re (of the film Saathiya) and Ek Hasina Thi(of Karz) are songs you have heard earlier.
Debojit is keen to pursue his dream of becoming a playback singer. He will make his debut in Bollywood with Cabaret, while he is also set to release two albums, one in Bengali and one Assamese.
The contest and the competition has been left far behind, says Debojit. “I always felt bad that Darbar saab never took my side as aggressively as Himesh Reshamiya backed Vinit. When I told him how I felt, he simply said that I should not take much notice of the antics and should instead focus on my singing,” he said. “He said, ‘It does not matter how much noise you make, if you sing well you will get good work in the industry.’”
But Debojit’s fan-following is not restricted to India. “I was a part of the Heat tour with many Bollywood actors and I was amazed to see the response of the people there.” Come June and Debo will be off to United States and United Kingdom on his personal tour but before that he makes a guest appearance on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Ek Main Aur Ek Tu on Thursday. With all that and the promotion of his latest album at hand, we can only wish this young man all the very best for his future.

Published in Hindustan Times Next on May 18, 2006