The Telugu states have found their second Indian idol in LV Revanth, the soulful singer best known for the song “Manohari” in Baahubali: The Beginning. Revanth, a popular name in Tollywood, triumphed over Hyderabad's PVNS Rohit and Punjab’s Khuda Baksh to be crowned the winner of the reality show Indian Idol 9 on Sunday.
Revanth has clinched a contract with Sony Music, a Mahindra KUV100, as well as a cash award of Rs 25 lakh for his win. His victory comes four seasons after Hyderabad-based Sreeram Chandra Mynampatti won Indian Idol 5.
"Right now, I am on cloud nine. I am very happy for winning the show. I would say that my life has just began right now. It's not easy to win that title being a south Indian singer. I saw this show as a big opportunity. The four-month journey in this show has completely changed my life," Revanth told IANS.
Courtesy: Facebook/LV Revanth
Revanth became known for his soulful voice right from the time he first auditioned for the show. However, the singer was battling a language disadvantage, struggling with Hindi and even being laughed at for it in the early parts of the reality contest.
For Revanth, this was not a new experience, as he has consistently been battling rejection and scorn for his lack of skill with Hindi. As he told the Times of India’s Vijaya Tiwari, "Whenever I went for auditions, I was often insulted for not knowing Hindi and wanting to become a playback singer. People made fun of me, but when I hold the mic I forget everything and that has helped me in moving forward in life.”
Born in Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh, Revanth was raised by his mother, as his father passed away just before he was born. Having studied in Srikakulam and Vishakapatnam, Revanth moved to Hyderabad to pursue playback singing. Revanth reportedly took up various jobs at public phone booths and in catering companies to fund his singing pursuits.
His success is all the more impressive since he has no musical pedigree to boast off, reports Yashika Mathur in the Hindustan Times. “Family situations never allowed me to do anything big. I came to Indian Idol not to win or lose, but only to sing. The best part about the show is the learning I got,” Revanth told HT.
The song "Manohari" from Baahubali: The Beginning
Revanth’s career in Tollywood took off thanks to support from music composer MM Keeravani. His first film song, sung in 2008, was “Jalak Diklaja” for the Telugu film Maha Yagnam. Since then, he has lent his voice to around 200 songs in Telugu and Kannada, and has won multiple awards too.
Winning Indian Idol 9 is a big dream come true for Revanth, who is keen on making his mark on Bollywood. As Revanth told The Indian Express, “I have big dreams and I have to make it big in Bollywood. I have one eye set on Bollywood and the other on Tollywood, but I want to work on my Hindi first.”
With IANS Inputs