From bathing on the road to Indian Idol

Shashi Suman, 21 from Patna was eliminated from Indian Idol 5 on Monday.

His unexpected exit stunned the judges and his fans. Rajul Hegde finds out how he's taking the hit. Excerpts:

You were in tears after the elimination...

Yes, I was in shock. I was expecting to be at least among the top five. Actually it was more of disappointment than shock.

What do you think went wrong?

It could be because I was not getting enough votes from my home town (Patna).

Also, I think I focused on the song and did not connect with the audience. It's difficult to know what the audience is looking for. All of us were shocked with the result but we have to respect their decision.

Can you tell us something about your self?

Singing is my passion since childhood. I wanted a career in music. I learnt to play the tabla from my father as he too is a music lover.

After my 10th standard I wanted to pursue my career in music but my parents didn't support it. So I ran away from home to Lucknow University to fulfill my dreams.

I learnt music under Ustad Gulshan Bharti for six years. After that I came down to Mumbai for Sa Re Ga Ma but got evicted.

Even though I didn't have a roof over my head, I decided to stay on in Mumbai. I spent almost 15 days at a railway station. I bathed on the road. Finally, a friend from Lucknow bumped into me and offered me a place to stay.

I have been living in Mumbai now for two years and struggled a lot. Now I make my living doing a lot of stage shows. It is the biggest achievement of my life to be part of Indian Idol.

Who is your favourite judge?

It's difficult to pick one; all the three judges were helpful and supportive.

Did you make friends on Idol?

Yes. I will miss all of them specially Rakesh Maini. I am closer to him because we shared a room.

Which was the best moment on Idol?

When Prtiamda (Chakraborty) sang with me after my Dil Khudgarz hai performance.

According to you who will be in the top three?

Rakesh Maini, Shivam Pathak and Sreeram.

What next?

I want to be a playback singer. In fact, I sung a song for Raajneeti (Mora Piya) with Aadesh Srivastav and got good feedback for it.

I have also recorded another song for Shankar Mahadevan.