abhijeet on girlfriend

By Subhash K Jha

The first Indian Idol Abhijeet Sawant feels he's being uneccesarily maligned.

"I don't know why. But I'm constantly made to look like the villain when all I want to do is to work," Abhijeet says from the UK where he's currently accompanying Himesh Reshammiya.

"I don't want to sound like a victim. But the latest example of my alleged villainy is that I agreed to sing for a blind orchestra called Udaan at Ghatkopar and then backed out from fulfilling my commitment. The truth is, it's the mediator, a cousin of mine who played dirty.

I was promised Rs 1.5 lakhs to come to the show sing a song on stage with the orchestra. Out of this I finally got only Rs 50,000. I went to the show sang and fraternized with the orchestra.

As soon as I came to know that the organizers were unhappy about my performance I refunded the sum of 50,000 to the organizers."

Abhijeet laughs, "It was made out to seem as though I was forced to return the money when the truth is I readily and voluntarily gave back the money. I later came to know the organizers had given Rs 80,000 for me. The mediators had swallowed up Rs 30,000.'

Abhijeet finds it hard to cope with all the negative vibes. "But I'm happy with my career after becoming the first Indian Idol. I'm doing innumerable shows in India and abroad. And I've sung the songs of a film called Mumbai.com. I'm also starting work on my second film."

About the controversy surrounding his secret fianc Abhijeet clears the air once and for all.

"Yes, there's a girl. And she is a very special friend. But she isn't my fiance, as some papers wrote. She works for Jet Airlines. She's from the middleclass and wants to be kept away from the limelight. We should respect that. Let's what the future holds for the two of us."