It was expected for quite some time. Swaroop Khan – the folk singer of Indian Idol – was sounding monotonous, was being able to sing only a particular genre of songs and was lacking that X factor. That is what everyone felt and finally this week it reflected in the votes as well. Swaroop spoke to TellyChakkar just after his elimination. You must be taking back a lot of memories from Indian Idol… A lot of them. In these three months, I have learned a lot. I used to sing only traditional songs since childhood. It was only after coming to Indian Idol I started singing Hindi film songs. There is no way we can ignore the Hindi film songs, they are part of our culture now. I have made many friends with my fellow contestants and the crew of this show. Lastly, the judges who constantly helped supported and encouraged me. How has the reaction been in your village in Jaisalmer? Things have changed for me in my village quite a bit. I have studied only till Class V, but, I managed to participate in Indian Idol and reach here. This has inspired the villagers a lot. Hopefully, there will be more participants next year and more people will learn music in my village. When I go back, I want to pass on the message if life gives you an opportunity, grab it. Throughout the contest judges have commented on your cracked voice. Have you ever tried to change that? Actually my voice is not cracked. I am a folk singer and we are required to sing in a very high pitch. After coming to Mumbai, because of the change in climate my voice got affected. Plus when you are not used to sing a particular type of song, your voice will react in a not-so-nice manner. After Naushad was eliminated, who was your closest buddy? It was Shivam Pathak. He is very dear to me and I miss him a lot. I am also quite close to Rakesh Maini. Who do you think will win this time? I want Rakesh to win. His and my stories are quite similar. We both are from villages and have struggled a lot. Both of us want to do something for our parents. What are your future plans? I will be in Mumbai till the finals – all of us need to practise for the grand finale. After that I plan to go back to my village, enroll myself for higher studies and continue my passion in music. You have recorded your first film song. Tell us about it. Yes I have sung a number for Bappi Lahiri in the film Emotional Atyachar. Bappida heard me on Indian Idol and offered me the song. It has a folk touch and I had a great time with him in the recording studio.