One of the most deserving contestants, Shashi Suman was shown the exit gate last night in Indian Idol 5. His eviction came as a shock not only to him but also the judges. After shedding tears of disappointment, TellyChakkar caught the eliminated contestant speak his heart out. You cried a lot after getting eliminated… Yes, I was extremely shocked. I had always expected to be in the ‘top 5’. In fact, Anuji (Mallik) was also sure of me being in ‘top 5’. So I am feeling sad I couldn’t make it. The judges were extremely upset to see you go. You think you were their favourite contestant? I think we all were their favourites since they picked us from thousands of other candidates. And as we are with them for so long now, their attachment towards us is obvious. I do feel the judges do have a soft corner for me. Who is your favourite judge? I respect all of them equally. What could be the reason for your elimination? Since it’s totally based on voting, I can’t really say. We don’t know what the audience is looking out for. For instance, we all thought that Vishwas bhaiya (Rai) would surely make it to the top, but we were shocked to know the audiences’ decision. You can still get back with the wild card entry; you think the judges will pick you? If there’s a wild card entry, I am sure the judges will pick me. Who else stands a chance of getting lucky with the wild card entry? Vishwas Rai, for sure! We heard you left your house and lived on a railway station in Mumbai. Is it true? Yes, it is true. My parents didn’t approve of me choosing singing as a full-time profession. So I ran away from my house and landed in a renowned university of Lucknow. After a professional training in classical music for six-seven years, I came down to Mumbai for Sa Re Ga Ma. After the show, I had two options - to go back or to stay. Despite of not having a roof in Mumbai, I decided to stay back. I had spent almost 10-15 days on a railway station and bathing on the roads on Mumbai. Finally, a friend from Lucknow bumped into me and offered that I stay with him. Who according to you, should be in the top 3? According to me, Shreeram, Rakesh Maini and Shivam Pathak should be in the ‘top3’. Who is your best friend on the show? Rakesh Maini. Being my room partner during the show, I was very attached to him. What will you miss the most about the show? I’ll miss my friends a lot. Being together for so long, we were used to each other. We did everything together and I feel very sad to leave them and go. Who can win the show? Frankly, either Rakesh or Shreeram can win the show. What do you plan to do next? No idea. I was always determined to be a playback singer; I am going to continue my quest to be the same. I will do whatever is required to achieve my goal. In fact, I have recently lent my voice to Raajneeti with Shankar Mahadevan.