I celebrated with a cold drink: Anjana Padmanabhan

Less than 24 hours after she was declared the winner of Indian Idol Junior, 10-year-old Anjana Padmanabhan says that she hasn’t had time for celebrations yet. “I drank a cold drink ... I haven’t celebrated in a grand way yet. I am just enjoying,” says the first Indian Idol Junior.

Less than 24 hours after she was declared the winner of Indian Idol Junior, 10-year-old Anjana Padmanabhan says that she hasn’t had time for celebrations yet. “I drank a cold drink ... I haven’t celebrated in a grand way yet. I am just enjoying,” says the winner of the reality show.

The Bengaluru girl has won Rs 25 lakh as prize money, a car and two fixed deposits of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh. But she doesn’t plan to spend the money at all. “I’ll give all the money to my parents.” To save for her till she grows up? “No, no, I’ll just give it to them,” she says.

It was a dream come true, she says, to get the trophy from veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan. “I am a fan of his, so I was very happy and he told me, ‘You sing very nicely’. I wasn’t expecting to win ... I thought someone else would win,” she says. While she’s doing interviews and the cameras are focussed on her, the singer says that she doesn’t feel like a celebrity yet. “I am feeling very normal ... I think all of us (participants) are celebrities.”

The finale may have just taken place, but she’s already looking ahead. “I want to become a playback singer and a pilot.” Any particular female actor she wants to sing for? “Aisa kucch nahi hai. I don’t have any favourites. I can even sing for a male actor. I would like to sing all types of songs,” she says.