My focus is on playback singing, says India's Raw Star winner Rituraj Mohanty

After winning music reality show India's Raw Star, Odisha's Rituraj Mohanty says the victory is just the beginning and that he now wants to pursue playback singing. The winner now wants to work with people like A.R. Rahman and Ram Sampath.

After winning music reality show "India's Raw Star", Odisha's Rituraj Mohanty says the victory is just the beginning and that he now wants to pursue playback singing.

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"After the show, my focus is on playback singing. Yes Sufi is close to my heart, but before entering the show, I sang around 280 songs that included dubstep, romantic and hard rock. So I am ready to try different things," Rituraj told IANS after winning the show Sunday.

He is "happy" after the win, but says that he still has "a lot of things to achieve."

"I will be happier when I will be awarded IIFA and Filmfare trophy," he said about his ambition.

Coming from a humble background, Rituraj walked away with a Maruti Suzuki Swift, a contract with STAR Plus and a whopping Rs 50 lakh as cash prize. Rituraj says he will use the money for the reconstruction of his mud house.

"In my village, I have a 'mitti ka ghar' and I plan to make a new house at the same spot for my parents. And then I will try to invest the money in some good things," said Rituraj who won the trophy after defeating Darshan Raval from Ahmedabad and Mohit Gaur from Jaipur.

"I want to work with many people like A.R. Rahman and Ram Sampath, who is my godfather. I also want to touch Lataji's feet (Mangeshkar)," he said.

He admits his stint in actor Aamir Khan's show "Satyamev Jayate" with a catchy song "Aam ke aam honge guthliyon ke daam honge" opened doors for him.

"After singing for the show, I got a call from Saibaba Productions. The whole journey was amazing," he said.

Ask him about the most memorable moment during the journey, and the 26-year-old says the appreciation he got after his first performance holds a special place in his heart.

"Every moment was special, but the positive comments I got after my performance on 'Galiyan' is the most memorable. In fact, even after the performance, guests used to request me to sing that song again," Rituraj said.