Rahul Vaidya out of Idol race!

The 'Indian Idol' race has finally boiled down to the last two. Rahul Vaidya is out of the reckoning, finds Vickey Lalwani.

Rahul Vaidya - smiling through the tears!

Voice quivering with emotion, Rahul says he is clueless what went wrong with him in Thursday's episode. "I accept people's verdict with humility. I think I should have made it, but that's life. Now may the best candidate win," he says philosophically.

The two running neck and neck in the race are nervous. Almost biting his nails hard, Amit Sana asks, "What is it that you want to ask me when I am walking on the thinnest portion of the long rope I have travelled across so far?"

"I was confident that I will come this far. But there's a big difference in feeling about it and having actually achieved it," he adds.

Sana claims that he is clueless about the bets that are being placed all over the country about who is going to capture the Indian Idol crown.

"We are locked up in our hotel. We hardly read anything. It hardly matters to me. I am getting good sleep," he says with a shrug..

Sana, who, not so long ago, was tipped to win the coveted prize, was the third favourite (6/1) for Thursday's episode. "It hardly matters, " he shrugs. "But if you say that, it has made me even more determined."

So far, the contestants have chosen the song according to their whims and fancies. But in the final round, the judges - Anu Malik, Farah Khan and Sonu Nigam - will have the final say.

On the other hand, dark horse Abhijit Sawant, whose cool and affable persona seems to have won him a few extra points, was the first favourite for Thursday's episode (5/2).

Sawant however does not claim surprise over the betting. "I heard something about people gambling on us. That explains that the programme has become a rage," he chuckles.

"I think we both have our strengths and weaknesses. After the entire filtration has been done, now we both will have to hold our nerve. The one who will perform the best when it counts the most will win," he adds after a short pause.

The buzz now is, superstar Shah Rukh Khan will be the celeb judge for the grand finale. Remember, you heard it here first!