I didn’t think I would win, says India's Raw Star winner Rituraj Mohanty

Mumbai: In what came as a surprise, the soulful Sufi singer from Odisha, Rituraj Mohanty walked away with the trophy of India’s Raw Star, defeating crowd favourite Darshan Rawal. Rituraj admits he was surprised by the result too. “I didn’t think I would win, by the end of it my mind stopped working. No matter who won, I knew I would have been equally happy. I have lost my voice now, screaming so much with excitement. I cried when my name was announced as winner, woh khushi ke aanson the. I’m sure everyone from Odisha will be happy with my win.”

When the show began Honey Singh (original judge of the show) had admitted that he was not sure about taking Rituraj on board, the channel had convinced him. “Yes, Honey paaji took some time to accept my style of singing, and said I convinced him 75% after my first performance. After he said that my rendition of Galiyan (Ek Villain) left him speechless, I was in seventh heaven. I missed him terribly during the finale episode.”

What made-up for Honey’s absence though, was that Rituraj got the opportunity to perform with his idol, another Sufi maestro, Kailash Kher at the finale. A happy Rituraj says, “Whatever I have learnt it is by hearing singers like Kailashji. So performing with him and receiving compliments was a matter of pride for me. He told me that reaching the finale itself was a big thing.”

Having lived with his co-contestants for almost four months now, what will he miss most, now that the show has ended? “ I will miss the bungalow that we used to come back to after our performances or rehearsals and then keep chatting about all that happened during the day. We are all part of the same industry, so I hope to keep meeting them. But now that I’m going home, I’m happy that I can indulge in maa ke haath ka khaana and climbing trees to pluck mangoes, that I was missing.”

One grouse that fans have had against Rituraj, is that unlike other contestants, he hasn’t been active on social networking sites and doesn’t keep in touch with fans. Rituraj explains, “The singers who have made a name for themselves, have won peoples hearts through their talent and not through social networking. I didn’t know how to use social networking sites but I have now started and hope to be in touch with fans regularly.”