I was confident I would sail through : Naushad Ali Kawa

While the entire nation rubbed their eyes in disbelief, the 18-year-old handsome singer from the Pink City -- Naushad Ali Kawa --was eliminated from Indian Idol last night. The sadness, pain and disbelief were evident when he heard his name being announced as the eliminated contestant. For the first time in the contest, Naushad was in the bottom three and he was voted out. Even while giving his last performance, Naushad broke down. Such was the disbelief and anger that Sunidhi walked out from the stage. TellyChakkar spoke to Naushad immediately after the elimination. This was completely unexpected… It was. When Hussain announced my name, I couldn't believe my own ears. For the first time I was in the bottom three and I was confident I would sail through. But God had something else in store for me. I am sure he has something better for me. You performed very well in the last two rounds (the qawaali and Hema Malini special rounds). Why do you think you were voted out? I do not have any answer to this question. I have no clue about how the audience thinks, how they vote…I guess it is up to them. I respect their decisions. I am glad I managed to reach this far. How was your Indian Idol journey? My mother always prayed for me in the dargah so that I become a successful playback singer one day. So, when I gave my audition in front of the judges and they called me to Mumbai, it was like a dream come true for me. After coming to Mumbai, I got a bit scared when I saw so many talented singers around. The rounds before the galas were tough too. Every time I crossed a round, I realised I was inching closer to my dreams. Though I was eliminated, I strongly believe my dreams will come true one day. What will you miss from today? Definitely, the stage. Especially the opportunity of performing in front of legends like Pyarelalji, Pritamji and the three judges. Performing in front of Ashaji was also a very good experience which I will never forget. I could not dream of such things a few months back. You and Swaroop Khan became close friends… We met at the Ahmedabad auditions and exchanged pleasantries. But later when we met in Mumbai, we became good friends. Swaroop is a very simple person. Who do you think will win the title this time? I think it has to be Shivam Pathak. He is hard working and a versatile singer. Apart from that, he is a very good human being which will help him achieve his dreams. What next? It's been quite some time that I have not seen my family. So I am going to meet them soon and spend some time. After that I will be back to Mumbai and try to slowly shift my base here. My grandfather had bought a piece of land in Jaipur many years back. I have a dream to build a music school there and my idol and uncle, Amanat Ali Kawa will teach there. I plan to make it come true.