Biswajit Mahapatra of Odisha clinched a spot in the Top 13 of the tenth edition of popular singing reality show India Idol on Sunday night.
He sang the fun-filled and upbeat ‘Oh Maria’ from India’s official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign language Film in 1985, Saagar, in the presence of the film’s hero Kamal Hassan. His performance impressed the Viswaroop star who termed it ‘extraordinary’ while the judges of the show, Bollywood music composer Anu Malik, singer Neha Kakkar and music director Vishal Dadlani, gave him a standing ovation.
The episode took an emotional turn when Biswajit narrated how his brother Satyajit Mahaptara gave up on his dreams so that this playback singer from Bhawanipatna could pursue his passion, a story that moved Kamal Hassan. Anchor Manish Paul surprised Biswajit with a video message from Satyajit and the singer could not control his tears.
Audience voting and judges’ assessment helped Biswajit remain a contender for the title of Indian Idol till next week. With the elimination of Sonia Gazmer, the contestants will now fight it out for the Top 12 singers’ spot.
This is the second time the Utkal University alumnus is seen on Indian Idol after reaching the Top 40 in its previous season in 2016. He sang the popular Odia song ‘Puchuki Gaali’ that amazed Bollywood singers Sonu Nigam and Anu Malik to such an extent that they joined him in a chorus and even danced. He was also the runners-up of a noted singing reality show on a regional television channel in 2012.
So far, this 26-year-old has lent his voice in about 12 Ollywood film and music solos. He is trained in Hindustani classical vocal music by his mother and Gurus Santosh Kumar Jha and Chittaranjan Pani. He is pursuing western music under the tutelage of Sharmi Chakraborty from Kolkata.