Aha Telugu Indian Idol season 2 announced Soujanya Bhagavatula as the winner of the season. The Pioneer quickly rang a call to the just-announced winner, who shared her journey from a contestant to the winner, handling her passion and her little baby, and more.
Tejal Sinha
After months of hard work, passion, and competitions, one of the most popular singing reality shows that has gained immense popularity among all age groups, Aha Telugu Indian Idol season 2, has come to an end. We’ve finally got the winner of the season: Soujanya Bhagavatula.
The much-awaited moment came to an end with Icon star Allu Arjun handing over the trophy to Soujanya. A memorable moment indeed! As we connected with her via telephone, Soujanya described this moment as “surreal”. It looks like now is the time for her to make a comeback after being the voice of Gundelona in Arjun Reddy. For the unaware, Soujanya, yes, the winner of the season, had already made her debut in the industry in 2017. She’d in fact also lent her voice to the Regina Cassandra and Nivetha Thomas-starrer Saakini Daakini for the song Kadile Kadile.
With her baby being too young for her to leave, Soujanya chose to take a break. But now she says that Telugu Indian Idol season 2 has been the best opportunity for her to make a comeback. “I didn’t expect that I’d emerge as the winner. I wanted an exposure, and I was expecting a good opportunity in my career. I wanted to sing before the judges and make a comeback in the industry. Well, and that’s when Telugu Indian Idol season 2 happened,” enthused Soujanya. While people knew she was the voice of Gundelona, she really wanted people to know her by her face and not just by her voice.
Well, practise makes perfect, they say, and that’s what was with her too. During our chat with her, she said, “I used to practise for each and every episode in order for me to cross to the next episode. So when I was in the top five, I was very happy because that was like a final episode. I have been throughout this season, and for me, that itself was a win, and when I was announced as a winner, I was shocked.”
From hundreds and thousands of auditions, to the Top 12, the Top 5, and then finally emerging as a winner, Soujanya shares that she’s seen herself grow throughout. And not just that, she’s also seen her singing improve a lot.
She further says, “The thing about Indian Idol is that we had the freedom to explore the songs. We just didn’t have to sing a song as it is; we could improvise in our own way. And those improvisations were given by the orchestra team. We had a very genius orchestra team, and we had a lot of fun also, and this experience was too good because I felt like I went back to my college days (she giggles).”
Actor Allu Arjun has been not just one of the most bankable actors in the Indian film industry but also the most loved actor, and meeting him in reality is a dream of many. Getting a trophy and sharing a stage with him was more than just a memorable moment for the budding singer. When talking about meeting him in person before the finale, she gleefully shared, “As soon as he entered the sets, there was this power-packed positive energy throughout. In fact, he came up to all five of us and shared his positive comments with us. He, in fact, saw me handling my baby, came up and spoke to me, and pointed out small points like my struggles and handling my baby even 5 minutes before the winner was going to be announced. I feel so lucky, and he’s such a kind person—down to earth and very sweet. It just felt like he was a part of our own family.”
Well, as we went ahead in the conversation, there came some revelations: Soujanya had also given auditions for the first season of Telugu Indian Idol. However, since her daughter was just a 3-month-old baby, she couldn’t go any further. She believed that the show was a good opportunity for not only her to make a comeback but also for her to become a known face. Well, now it’s going to happen. How? Not just because she’s turned up to be the winner of the season, but also because the music composer and judge of both seasons of Telugu Indian Idol, SS Thaman, had asked her to record and sing a song for his upcoming film. Yes, you read that right! And so she said, “This is going to be the biggest song for me after Gundelona. I think this is the start of the second inning.”
Challenge, something that plays a huge part in helping one become who they are today. And so we asked, What, according to her, was the most challenging episode in the journey? “I would say that the challenge for me turned out in a positive way. For me, there were two challenging episodes. One was during the judges special episode, where I had to sing one of Geeta Akka’s songs. There were some improvisations in the end. Sai Anna from the orchestra team had made a few improvisations, and it was just a day before the performance. I was really worried because I had to sing without seeing the lyrics. I always used to register the tune and everything first, and then I took care of the lyrics. Though it was very tough for me, luckily I could sing it well, and I not only received good compliments but also the Blockbuster Golden Star.
The other one was when Chitra Amma came and I sang one of her classical songs. It was a challenge for me because it had a lot of sargas. But again, fortunately, it turned out well, and I got a standing ovation from her.”
During our conversation, one thing that Soujanya stressed was getting family support. At a time when she wanted to stay with her little daughter, her family and her in-laws took care of the 1.5-year-old, which motivated her to pursue her passion. Not just her family, but she feels her little daughter has supported her too, in her own way.
“My baby was not the kind of temperate; she was adjusting with everyone for me, so I think that’s a blessing for me that only my baby supported me in her own way,” she gleefully shared.
After staying away from her baby for months, she surely felt the ‘mom guilt’ many times, but she knew she had signed up for this. Especially, she recalled, “During the mother’s special episode, I was expecting my mom to be there, but my mother-in-law and my daughter were a surprise for me. The Aha team invited them (she shared in a blissful voice). And in that episode, Geeta Akka all of a sudden asked me to sing a lullaby that I used to always sing for my baby. And as soon as I started singing, I saw my baby. That was a moment I cannot describe when she hugged me after a long time. There were times I used to lie to her, saying I was going to come with her, and that really felt bad.”
As we come to an end, signing off on a brighter note, Soujanya shares that if one is a married woman or a mother, you shouldn’t just hold back on your talent. “Make your family understand and not give up because these things are reflected on the kids. For example, today, luckily, I had my family’s support, so I didn’t hold back on my passion. Tomorrow, when my baby will be a grownup, she’ll take it up as an inspiration and do what she desires.”
