Remember Amit Sana, who narrowly lost Indian Idol 1, has not sung film song in 16 years, this is what he is up to today

Indian Idol was not the first reality show or talent hunt competition from India. There had been several before but Indian Idol set the template for countless shows to follow. The inaugural season also gave something that would become the norm for reality TV – controversy. After Abhijeet Sawant won, many felt the runner-up Amit Sana was more deserving. The singer did get his own album and even did playback in films, but his career never quite took on.

Amit Sana at Indian Idol

Amit Sana, born in Bhilai, was 21 when he participated in Indian Idol in 2005. He reached the grand finale but ended up the first runner-up, losing to Abhijeet Sawant in the end. While Abhijeet had his own fans, many said that Amit was more talented and deserved to win. In the era before social media, the grapevine was abuzz with how Amit Sana had been ‘cheated’. The singer took it all in his stride. His debut album Chal Diye was released later in the same year. He sang playback in Kalyug, where the music was composed by Anu Malik, one of the judges in Indian Idol.

Amit Sana’s music career

Amit Sana sang a bunch of songs in films like Jaan-E-Mann, Sun Zara, and Delhi Heights, all of which had Anu Malik as their music composer. But the 2007 release Delhi Heights was his last tryst with Bollywood. The singer then focussed on his stage shows. A few years later, he released another solo album called Yaadein, which was well received. In 2008, he also participated in another reality show called Jo Jeeta Wohi Super Star, which included winners and runners up of all previous reality shows. Here too, he lost, with Rahul Vaidya emerging as the winner.

Amit Sana’s marriage and divorce

Amit Sana has lived a quite life away from limelight while continuing to perform on stage, and releasing videos and covers on YouTube. In 2011, Amit married Manisha Bansal. However, their marriage did not last. They separated and eventually divorced in 2018.