'I wanted Diwakar to win...' artical

By Subhash K Jha

The avidly watched grand finale of Zee's Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs held at the roomy Andheri Sports Complex in suburban Mumbai ended Saturday night.

Hours before the keenly contested three-pronged contest among Samir, Sanchita and Divakar came to an end, the three contestants were the portrait of poise, confidence and suppressed nervousness.

Said Sameer, "I'm not the least nervous. Why should I be? I've done my best. What's to happen will happen now. Whether I win or lose, these months have taught me a lot. I loved every moment of my experience here.

Of course I want to win. But I was equally prepared to win or lose. Divakar and Sanchita are my best friends. I'd certainly feel bad if they lost. But I'd be very happy about winning."

Said Divakar before the contest , "I'm not at all nervous and I'm not at all scared because I know I'm going to win. Of course I'll feel bad for Sameer and Sanchita. Sameer is like my brother and Sanchita is like my sister. I want all of us to win."

Ironically Sanchita was the only one among the three who admitted to being nervous. "I do feel scared. I've prepared all the songs for tonight. Now all I need is luck and the audiences' vote on my side. Divakar and Sameer are like my brothers. I want them to win. And they will because there're three winners...Lil Champ, 1st Runner-Up, 2nd Runner-Up."

Finally it was Sanchita who walked away with the Li'l Champ trophy, defeating Sameer's overt hero-giri and Divakar's blind-angelic sweetness by a narrow margin. Sanchita was over-the-moon. "I had prepared some really sizzling songs, and I guess they went down well with the audience."

Fatigued but jubilant Li'l Champs producer Gajendra Singh said, "It was a close run. I'm glad because Sanchita definitely had the best voice and range of the three finalists. Also, the general view that only guys win all these music contests like Indian Idol and Sa Re Ga Ma was broken. That was welcome."