‘Indian Idol 2’:The first look

Rehan Khan
(street vendor)

This physically challenged Class X student sells clothes on the streets of Lucknow to make a living. He uses the money he earns to learn classical music from the Bhatkhande Musical Institute.

Anshuman Dev Varma
(journalist)
He composes his own music and has done a lot of shows. Having worked with Hindustan Times, Times of India and now Aaj Tak as a reporter, he now wants to pursue his love for music to impress his girlfriend. 

Lavanya (radio jockey)
This RJ with Radio City always wanted to be a singer and is a disciple of Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan for the last 13 years. Her idols are Lata Mangeskar, Asha Bhonsle, Sonu Nigam and Hariharan.

Swagata Sarkar
(housewife)
This housewife from Howrah, Kolkata, believes that marriage has been her biggest achievement. “My husband fell in love with my voice,” she says. She has learnt music from universities in Allahabad and Kolkata and plays the harmonium and the tanpura.

Lopa Mudra  Das
(dancer)
One of the finalists of the ‘Musafir Item Bomb’ contest, Lopa has learnt kathak, salsa, tango and jazz. She is learning music from her father NC Das, a musician with Vividh Bharati. She has performed in shows in South Africa, and Malaysia and is a theatre performer too.

Ravi Tripathi
(music teacher)
He is learning music at Suresh Wadkar’s music school Gurukul. He also helps Wadkar to teach new entrants. He had auditioned for ‘Fame Gurukul’ but was rejected.

Deepak Kumar Halla
(orchestra-singer)
He has been singing for local orchestras and thus contributes towards the family income. The place where he stays has no electricity since the last four years. Deepak has been learning classical music and feels that the show could change his fortunes.

Mansimran Kaur
(engineer)
This physically challenged engineer from Delhi has also done her BA in Hindustani classical music and is an artiste on AIR (All India Radio) from the age of 16.
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