As an Army officer's son, I am a fighter` says Parleen

Parleen has been a favourite among the girls and his performances were almost always superb. So, naturally, his elimination came as a shock to his fans. We spoke to Parleen soon after the show. Quite surprisingly, he came across as balanced and in full control of his emotions.

We are very sorry. Did you expect this?

I didn't expect this at all. My performance was good, the judges had liked it, my manager and even the people on the sets had said it was good. This was totally unexpectedly, a total shock to me.

What went wrong?

At this moment, I am completely blank. I cannot think much. See, public voting has always been unpredictable, but the people around me said that in the last episode a lot of stress was laid on the public to vote for the girls. Maybe because of that a lot of votes went to the girls this time. As a result, one of the guys had to go and so I am the victim.

If not you, who could have been out today?

It is difficult to say anything. We thought it would surely be a girl even today. There were two girls in the bottom 3, but see what happened!

Did you expect to be among the Top 9?

Well, that is not something you can predict. I am a big fan of Abhijeet Sawant. I made up my mind to participate in Indian Idol 2 after I saw him win. In Indian Idol 2, I was among the top 50. After I was eliminated, I was even more determined to make it. I went for music training for a year in Ambala and this year, I made it to the Top 9. It is unbelievable; I think it is a great achievement for me.

Do you have any grudges against the janta?

From Top 28, the janta voted for me and got me into the Top 9. So how can I hold any grudges against them? Even if I was in the danger zone four times, it was because some people didn?t vote for me. But when I think of the loyal fans who voted and saved me until now, all I want to do is thank them from the bottom of my heart.

What are your future plans?

I would like to make a career in singing. But I would also like to keep my options open and take up whatever opportunity I get, whether it is in acting or modelling. Basically, I will struggle to make it big. My life starts now. It's not the end; it's just the beginning. I am from Ambala. I'll go home now and meet my parents. But I will definitely come back to Mumbai with a bang!

People say your looks helped you come this far. Do you agree?

I know what people are saying, but I have sung tough songs like Ramta jogi. These are not easy to sing because they need a classical base to sing them. Also, when the Galas started, I had got hurt while shooting for Roobaroo. A camera fell on my head and I had to get stitches. For 10 days I couldn't wash my hair and I looked awful with hair flowing like Jaadu! But I still sang and people voted for me.

Do you hold any grudges against the judges?

No, I want to thank each of the judges personally. Their comments were very encouraging. They've always inspired us to perform better`Anu Maliik and Javedji with their straightforward comments, Alisha with her smiling face, and Uditji with his sweet comments. I'll miss everything related to Indian Idol.