The 12th season of the singing reality show, Indian Idol, was like none other. It embroiled more controversies than any other season (or even Bigg Boss) and left fans disappointed and irked multiple times. The 12-hour grand finale was no different. 

© Instagram/Sayli Kamble

Uttarakhand’s Pawandeep Rajan was announced the winner, while Arunita Kanjilal and Sayli Kamble were declared runners-up. Rajan bagged the trophy along with a swanky new car and a cheque of Rs. 25 lakh. However, he said he didn’t feel great after winning. 

© Twitter/Indian Idol 12

In a media interview after his big win, he said, “I did not think much during the final moments. There was only one thing in my mind that whoever wins the show, the trophy will come to one of the friends. Because we all are one big family. In fact, when I got the trophy I was not feeling very great because all of us were deserving.”

© Twitter/Indian Idol 12

While his fans were elated, many opposed the decision. They weren’t satisfied with the results and felt Arunita Kanjilal and Sayli Kamble were more deserving candidates for the trophy. Some even suggested that Arunita Kanjilal and Pawandeep Rajan should have been declared joint winners because they were both equally deserving.

© Instagram/Arunita Kanjilal

Here is how the audience reacted to Pawandeep Rajan’s win. 

Congratulations #PawandeepRajan for becoming #IndianIdol2021 ..

But still I believe #Arunitakanjilal_official was also deserving contestant.

My wish, @SonyTV had to declare joint winner #PawandeepRajan and #arunita for #IndianIdol .#IndianIdolGreatestFinaleEver

— इन्द्र (IG) (@indragohil) August 15, 2021

#ArunitaKanjilal was more deserving, she should win. #Pawandeep is overrated. His performance was not so good so many times. #mohammaddanish was deserving too.

— Fatema Ibrahim (@FatemaI98366336) August 16, 2021

Average singer at best. #ArunitaKanjilal was the best, not even close.

— Devin M. (@TitansFederer) August 15, 2021

@sayli_kamble - you are my Indian idol . Because u are the one who covered and sung for this winner who forgot the song in the live performance. # Unfair Competition # Unfair winner # Unfair Judgement

— Harish_Naik (@HarishN01613453) August 16, 2021

@ArunitaKanjilal & #SayliKamble were the Best. #PawandeepRajan was average but media hyped and heavily marketed. Even #ShanmukhaPriya was better than Pawandeep. @SonyLIVIntl

— Bharatt Desai (@Bharattdesai) August 16, 2021

According to the fans, there have been unfair eliminations along the course of the show which even made the audience doubt its credibility. Anjali Gaikwad and Ashish Kulkarni are two contestants whose elimination enraged the fans. 

© Instagram/Anjali Gaikwad

Apart from this, there were discussions about popular singers competing in the show. Pawandeep Rajan has also been the winner of another singing reality show, The Voice India back in 2015 which had Himesh Reshammiya as one of the judges. However, Reshammiya denied ever knowing Rajan before Indian Idol, which was strange. 

© Instagram/Pawandeep Rajan

After winning the show, Rajan said, “I was not able to understand anything at that moment. Everything felt like a dream and everyone had picked me up after I won. And I was just thinking how did this happen. There are things in life that happen instantly and you cannot understand anything.”

© Instagram/Pawandeep Rajan

Do you think it was a deserved win? Let us know in the comments.

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