Indian Idol 12 finale: Pawandeep Rajan is the season winner, takes home ₹25 lakh

Uttarakhand’s Pawandeep Rajan has won the 12th season of Indian Idol. Pawandeep lifted the winner’s trophy and also won the prize money of ₹25 lakh. Arunita Kanjilal and Sayli Kamble were runners-up.

Pawandeep was announced as the winner on Sunday’s grand finale episode, which ran for 12 hours until midnight. Pawandeep’s family also joined him on the show and were ecstatic at his win.

On the show, Pawandeep was known for delivering some impressive performances to hit Bollywood songs and also his romantic angle with co-contestant Arunita Kanjilal.

Speaking about the show, he had earlier told Indian Express in an interview, “Indian Idol is a platform that gives a lot of respect to artists, and the kind of exposure it gets you is unmatched. Through the course of the show, we got to sing so many songs, and had the best judges and guests to guide us. The reason I got back in the arena was not my will to win but my quest to learn. And I am thankful that after spending so many months on this show, we are now ready to playback.”

He had added that he was upset about leaving the show after being a part of it for many weeks. “After so many months, as we are set to wrap up, I feel pained. The show became our new home and it feels as if we came yesterday only. I wish we could have stayed longer,” he added.

Also read: Indian Idol 12 finale: Great Khali, Alka Yagnik join contestants

The finale episode saw Kiara Advani, Sidharth Malhotra, The Great Khali and others arrive as guests. Sonu Kakkar filled in for her sister Neha Kakkar as judge while Himesh Reshammiya, Vishal Dadlani and others also joined the show with Anu Malik. 

The episode was hosted by regular host Aditya Narayana and also Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa.