Indian Idol 12 winner: Pawandeep Rajan bags trophy and INR 25 lakh, Arunita Kanjilal is the first runner up

New Delhi: Pawandeep Rajan was declared as the winner of Indian Idol 12 on Monday (August 16) midnight and bagged home the winner’s trophy, INR 25 lakh and a swanky brand new car. Arunita Kanjilal was the first runner up and Sayali Kamble the second. Mohd Danish, Nihal Tauro, and Shanamukhapriya were also part of the finale episode. Indian Idol 12 was the longest-running season of the show and also had the longest finale episode. The singing reality show aired for eight months and it's finale episode ran for a whopping 12 hours.

Pawandeep, who hails from Uttarakhand, won many hearts with his soulful performances throughout the season and his chemistry and friendship with co-contestant Arunita.

The Indian Idol Finale saw many special performances and guest appearances. Kiara Advani, Sidharth Malhotra, The Great Khali, Alka Yagnik, Mika Singh, Udit Narayan among others were part of the finale episode.

Along with regular host Aditya Narayana, the finale episode also had Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa performing hosting duties. 

Speaking about his experience on the show, Pawandeep had earlier said to the Indian Express, “Indian Idol is a platform that gives a lot of respect to artists, and the kind of exposure it gets you is unmatched. Through the course of the show, we got to sing so many songs, and had the best judges and guests to guide us. The reason I got back in the arena was not my will to win but my quest to learn. And I am thankful that after spending so many months on this show, we are now ready to playback.”