Sandip Acharya has struck gold! He now has the unique distinction of being the second Indian Idol, following in Abhijeet Sawant's footsteps.

Sandeep Acharya: Indian Idol2

True to the tradition of reality shows, Indian Idol 2 has sprung a surprise. There was no doubt in the minds of the judges and Idol watchers like us that Karunya was the better singer of the two, but popular voting has always been contrary to expert perception. For a couple of weeks there were talks in the media that Sandeep will come out victorious.

This in no way means that Sandeep doesn't deserve to be the Idol. He's humble, down to earth and has no attitude - he's the perfect Indian aspirational youth. The 21 year old from Bikaner has a smile that can floor his worst critics. Karunya, on the other hand is very media savy, extremely confident and he's a great looker. All these together makes a comeplete package, but unfortunately, the viewers thought otherwise!

But the guy is extremely talented. But voting patterns have indicated that viewers always side the underdog! Qazi is a superb example of this trend. Even Ruprekha, compared to Arpita was more subdued and media shy, ditto for Abhijeet!

Sandeep shares a special moment with Abjijeet Sawant!

And there was always that feeling that because Sandeep is from Bikaner, he was bound to receive tremendous support from the North, whereas Karunya was never able to pull support from the South.

Even in their final performance, while both performed extremely well, there was this edge that Karunya had, purely on the basis of performance and singing abilities. Sandeep still was holding something back!

Before the day is over on 22 April, Sandeep's career would have got a headstart, but the one thing that remains to be seen is if he can make a mark in the cut throat music industry...Abhijeet Sawant is still not singing his own numbers, and Qazi and Ruprekha's album came and went...without anything as a whimper! Here's hoping that the new Indian Idol does more than just perform at stage shows and cut a mandatory music album!