Aneek
Dhar's
entry
into
"Hero
Honda
Sa
Re
Ga
Ma
Pa
Challenge
2007" was
mired
in
controversy.
Judges
Himesh
Reshammiya
and
Ismail
Darbar
had
said
that
the
abrupt
addition
of
the
winner
of
"Sa
Re
Ga
Ma
Pa
Bangla"
to
the
contest
was
unjust
to
the
other
contestants.
But
today,
the
music-makers
would
be
ready
to
take
their
words
back.
The
18-year-old
is
the
champion,
winning
with
3.66
crore
votes
from
India
and
abroad.
The
journey
was
tough
and
Aneek
slogged
hard
to
get
where
he
is
now
but
he
also
knows
that
this
is
just
the
start.
Competition
is
no
less
in
the
music
industry.
However,
hours
before
winning
the
finale,
there
was
a
storm
whirling
in
Aneek's
mind.
"There
was
hulchul.
But
then
I
thought
why
not
make
the
grand
finale
Aneek's
biggest
live
performance
and
leave
the
rest
to
God."
He
had
seen
tougher
times
before
though.
His
emotions
were
running
high
when
he
was
disapproved
of
at
the
time
he
entered
the
contest
in
episode
19.
"It
was
unfortunate,"
he
sighs,
adding
"Himesh
sir
and
Ismail
sir
had
objected
saying
'Tum
chalti
gaadi
mein
nahin
chadh
sakte
ho'.
It
really
hurt
me
and
I
prayed
that
I
get
just
one
chance
to
prove
myself.
I'm
really
lucky
that
I
finally
got
their
approval."
There
were
also
quite
a
few
occasions
when
Aneek
was
involved
in
the
drama
on
stage.
Guest
judge
Salman
Khan
had
walked
onto
the
stage
and
took
off
Aneek's
shirt
before
asking
him
to
sing
a
hit
song
from
his
film.
In
yet
another
episode,
Aneek
went
overboard
expressing
his
affection
for
actress
Dia
Mirza.
Dia
had
just
finished
praising
Aneek
for
his
singing.
"That's
when
I
blurted
out
'Dia
ji
I
love
you
very
much' and
she
replied
'I
love
you
too,
but
only
for
your
singing!'
It
was
a
big
honour
for
me
coming
from
an
actress
like
Diaji
and
the
best
compliment
anyone
could
have
given
me,"
smiled
Aneek.
So
did
she
break
his
heart
by
not
reciprocating
his
feelings?
"No,
in
fact,
I
loved
it.
Ismail
sir
came
to
me
said
that
I
should
dedicate
the
song
'Tadap
tadap
ke
is
dil
se…'
to
Dia
ji,"
the
champion
said.
At
the
end
of
it
all,
what
matters
to
Aneek
is
that
he
got
the
opportunity
to
sing
in
front
of
veterans
and
get
their
blessings.
Mentor
Himesh
had
been
more
of
a
friend
on
stage,
teasing
Aneek
about
a
"crush" on
some
other
contestant,
which
was
probably
just
not
there
in
real.
So
the
chubby
face
lights
up
as
soon
as
one
talks
about
the
music
director.
"Sa
Re
Ga
Ma
Pa
is
over
but
I
would
love
to
consolidate
my
relationship
with
Himesh
ji,
he
inspires
and
encourages
me
so
much,"
said
Aneek,
whose
win
had
been
Himesh's
guru
dakshina.
"In
the
last
season
of
"Sa
Re
Ga
Ma
Pa",
Vineet
couldn't
win
the
contest
so
Himesh
ji
was
very
disappointed.
He
is
happy
now."
The
composer
is
known
for
excessively
showering
kudos
for
a
good
performance,
as
well
as
bitterly
criticizing
poor
performances.
Aneek
must
have
got
a
taste
of
his
mentor's
ire
during
the
contest
as
he
recalls:
"If
you
perform
badly
wo
to
band
bajaa
dete
hain."
Perhaps,
Himesh's
strictness
helped
the
budding
singer
polish
his
skills.
Today,
Aneek
has
already
recorded
a
song
for
Bappi
Lahiri's
"
Love.com".
Now
that
he
has
a
career
in
playback
in
Bollywood
beckoning
him,
the
school
passout
has
taken
a
year
off
from
studies.
There
are
a
lot
of
expectations
of
him.
After
all,
he
has
to
prove
that
he
deserves
the
love
of
his
millions
of
fans
who
have
stood
by
him
through
thick
and
thin.