Raised By Single Mom, Sunny Hindustani’s Inspiring Journey From Polishing Shoes To Winning Indian Idol 11

Tough times are inevitable in life. But how we manage ourselves during these times not only defines our spirit but our future too.

Though many of us tend to blame our circumstances, very few gather the courage to fight those circumstances for their dreams.

Sunny Hindustani and his single mother are two such brave souls. Irrespective of their tough financial backgrounds, these two courageous people have shown the society that nothing is impossible.

Being raised by his single mother, Sunny Hindustani, who once used to polish shoes in Punjab, was announced the winner of the popular singing reality show, reported News18.

Along with the cash prize of Rs. 25 lakh, he was awarded an opportunity to sing in the next T-series project. However, the journey to fame wasn’t easy for Sunny and his single mother.

During the show when Indian Idol co-judge Neha Kakkar asked Sunny what he does for a living, he said that he is a shoe shiner while his mother sells balloons in Punjab. In his audition tape he mentioned:

“It would hurt me so much to watch my mother beg people for rice. I would sing while shining shoes and always thought to myself that I will make something of myself.”

He shared with HT in an earlier interview, how he has been singing on the street from a young age:

“Our family used to go to a religious place in Sangria in Rajasthan where qawwalis were sung by artists. I liked qawwalis of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. When I was 11 years old, I was singing in a street and some people recognised my talent and made me sing on the stage,”

Life took an ugly turn for the family when Sunny’s father died in 2014.  In order to feed his family, he had to take up shoe-shining work.

“My father Nanak Ram was also a singer and used to sing in fairs besides polishing shoes outside the bus stand. After his death in 2014, I took up the boot polishing work to feed the family. I had to drop out of school after Class 6. But I continued to practise music at home.”

But, things changed when he left a mark on the show with his great performance. As per the reports, he was given an opportunity to make his playback singing debut with Emraan Hashmi’s film ‘The Body’ in which he sang the track ‘Rom Rom’.

After winning the trophy, Sunny shared in his interview with The Indian Express:

“I had not thought of getting through the first round, leave alone winning the competition. I have come a long way and can’t believe that the journey has just started.”

“From getting the opportunity to sing on such a big platform to winning the show is like all my dreams come true. I will always be thankful to the judges for mentoring and guiding me and to Sony Entertainment Television for giving me a platform to perform in front of legends of the music industry and an opportunity to meet so many stars. I can’t believe that the whole of India heard my voice and voted for me wholeheartedly to make me Desh ki Awaaz.”

Many fans took to Twitter to congratulate Sunny and his mother for this great achievement.

At IFORHER, we are so proud of Sunny and his mother for fighting against life circumstances. We hope this inspiring story will give courage to many who are battling with life for their dreams.