Salman Ali (BCCL/ Farhan Ahmad Siddiqui)

Singer Salman Ali , the winner of the ' Indian Idol Season 10 ', was in the city recently to promote the reality show ' Superstar Singer ', in which he will be playing a mentor to the participants. Salman was last in the city a few months ago only as a participant of Indian Idol . "I found Lucknow really beautiful the first time I visited it and is full of wonderful people. The last time I was here, I was in love with the food, especially the kebabs. This time too I plan to taste them," he said.

Ask him how life has changed post his win on Indian Idol and he shares, "After winning the show, I have become a household name. Ab main jahan bhi nikalta hoon log pehchante hain, bolte hain haan yeh toh Salman Ali ja raha hai Indian Idol winner. Whenever I am in any flight, people come up to me for selfies, all this is really new for me. I never ever dreamt of living such a life."

He adds, "Before I won the show, I’ll be frank, my family was not at all doing well financially. In fact, I was really poor, plus we were in huge debts; life was tough. But thankfully, I am living a debt free life now. Jitni bhi tension thi, sab ja chuki hai, aur aisa lagta hai jitney sukh hain sab aa gaye hain life mein."

Professionally too, Salman says his career has kicked off, "Right now, I’m doing concerts in various countries. Plus, I have also sung for two Bollywood films, which I can't reveal at the moment. Also, a few other films are in the pipeline. I also lent my voice for the title track of the TV show Chandrakanta. So there is a lot happening on the professional front too."

— Saad Abbasi

