I am past the stage of proving myself

A page from the personal diary of Abhijeet Sawant I had participated in Indian Idol against the wishes of my family. So, winning the competition was a very emotional moment for me. I had ultimately proved myself. But that cherished moment has passed. Thereafter, many reality shows followed. In Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar, I was pitted against people who were the winners on other reality shows – really talented people who were tough competition. But the "talent" part of the competition lasted only until the voting began. After that, it was more about who could get the maximum votes. It is pretty much an open secret that it is no longer about fans and the votes of the general public. At times, the margin between two contestants is minimal. Contestants who have good PR skills and who can manage to get their family and friends to vote for them again and again win these competitions. I refused to do any of this, and solely on the basis of my talent and genuine votes by the public and my fans, I managed to get to the runner-up position in Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar. Once I got there, I told my family that I have proven myself once more. And I am proud of the fact that I got there without rigging votes. Nach Baliye was another learning experience. I was performing with Shilpa (wife) for the first time. Shilpa had never faced the camera before and was naturally quite nervous. But the most memorable moment was when we got a perfect 30 on the day we performed together. And the learning experience has got to be the incident which was portrayed as a clash with the judges. It came across as though we were fighting with them, but we were just debating on a certain point. This taught us to be mindful of whatever we are doing on television. I must make this point here: my equation and rapport with the judges on all my shows has been great. My relationship with them – Farah Khan, Anu Malik, Vishal-Shekhar – has extended beyond the show. They still keep in touch with me and I feel really good about that. But my opinion about being a part of another reality show as a contestant is the same. I will not compete one more time. I really think that I am past the stage of proving myself. I am now exploring playback, acting, pop music; things that I love. My film Lottery will decide a lot of things for me. I have worked very hard for it; I am even making an appearance on Comedy Circus to promote it. But I am prepared for the outcome. My experiences so far have hardened me and have made my spirit stronger. Now, it is mind over matter.