After nearly nine months, Indian Idol 12 has finally chosen its champion in Pawandeep Rajan.

The ‘greatest grand finale,’ which began at 12 noon on Independence Day, concluded with judges Himesh Reshammiya, Anu Malik, and Sonu Kakkar handing away the trophy, a car, and a cheque for Rs 25 lakh to winner Pawandeep.

Pawandeep told indianexpress.com about his experience on the show,” 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.”

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Arunita Kanjilal and Sayli Kamble were declared the first and second runners-up from the Top 6 Finalists, and each received a cheque for Rs. 5 lakhs.

Mohd. Danish and Nihal Tauro, the third and fourth runners-up, each received a cheque for Rs. 3 lakhs. All six finalists got a cheque of Rs. 75,000 from Raj Superwhite Soap, as well as gift baskets from Colgate and Denver.

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The top six finalists — Pawandeep Rajan, Arunita Kanjilal, Mohd Danish, Nihal Tauro, Sayli Kamble, and Shanmukhapriya — gave some spectacular performances on the 75th episode of one of the longest-running singing reality shows.

Acclaimed singers Sukhwinder Singh, Mika Singh, Amit Mishra, Kumar Sanu, Javed Ali, Alka Yagnik, and Udit Narayan performed with them, surprising the crowd with their melodic acts.

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The 12-hour finale guests included Shershaah cast Sidharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, WWE champion Khali, and Bade Achhe Lagte Hain lead couple Nakuul Mehta and Disha Parmar, among others.

Television’s popular couple Bharti Singh and Haarsh Limbachiyaa joined the team for a special segment and left everyone in splits.

Vijay Deverkonda, the South star, also sent a video message to his favourite Shanmukhapriya, which made the young singer blush. Aditya Narayan and Jay Bhanushali co-hosted the grand finale.