Amit Sana – Biography, Wiki, Personal Details, Age, Height

Amit Sana is a playback singer and live performer from Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, best remembered as the runner-up of the very first season of Indian Idol, which ended in March 2005 with Abhijeet Sawant taking the title. A classically trained vocalist, he went on to release the albums Chal Diye and Yaadein and to sing for Hindi films such as Kalyug and Jaan-E-Mann. In October 2026 he is back on the same Sony stage as a contestant in Indian Idol 17: Legends Return.

Amit Sana performing at Atulyam 2013, NIT Arunachal Pradesh. Photo: Garg.ankit38 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Early Life and Musical Training

Amit Sana was born in 1983 in Bhilai, the steel town that was part of Madhya Pradesh at the time and now falls in Chhattisgarh. His parents are Shyamsundar Rao Sana and Rajeshwari Sana. According to Wikipedia, music arrived very early: he was singing as a toddler and had begun formal classical lessons by the time he was eight.

The Bhilai Steel Plant shaped those first steps. His earliest stage appearance, at the age of eight, was at a function the plant organised, and it was after hearing him perform for the plant that his father decided to arrange proper lessons. His first teacher was the late R.R. Ghule, who taught him until he was sixteen. He then spent three years learning professional classical singing from the late Bimalendu Mukherjee, a former vice chancellor of Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya in Khairagarh.

As a teenager he kept entering contests in his region and across the state. One early result was a third-place finish at the All India Kiran Sangeet Samaroh in Katni, and he was also chosen to represent Chhattisgarh in the Indian classical category at the National Youth Festival.

Music was not the only plan. After school he moved to Jamshedpur in Jharkhand to study for a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology. While there, in 2002, he and his brother tried out together for Channel V’s talent hunt Pop Stars. Neither made the cut, a setback that came just two years before his big break.

Career

Indian Idol Season 1 (2004–2005)

In 2004 Amit travelled to Kolkata to audition for the first edition of Indian Idol on Sony Entertainment Television. The season was judged by Anu Malik, Farah Khan and Sonu Nigam and hosted by Aman Verma and Mini Mathur. It began on 30 October 2004 and its finale aired on 5 March 2005.

The singer from Bhilai made it all the way to the final two. Abhijeet Sawant of Mumbai won the trophy and Amit finished as first runner-up. Rahul Vaidya came third and Prajakta Shukre fourth. Looking back two decades later, Amit described himself at the time as a small-town boy who had no idea what to expect, and recalled walking in to find Sonu Nigam, Farah Khan and Anu Malik waiting on the panel.

Albums and Film Songs

The runner-up spot opened doors in the music industry. His debut album Chal Diye, composed by the duo Vishal–Shekhar, came out on Sony Music in 2005; its tracks include his version of “Mohobattein Lutaunga”. A second album, Yaadein, was composed by Rajiv Bhatt and released by Times Music.

Playback work followed in Hindi cinema. Wikipedia’s discography credits him with these film songs:

Hindi remains his main language as a singer, but he has also recorded for Telugu, Punjabi, Bengali and Assamese films.

Jo Jeeta Wohi Superstar and Live Shows

He returned to reality television as a celebrity singer on Star Plus’s Jo Jeeta Wohi Super Star. This time his run was short, and he went out after only a few performances. Away from television he works as a live performer. One such stage appearance, in 2013, was at Atulyam, the yearly inter-college cultural festival of NIT Arunachal Pradesh.

Indian Idol 17: Legends Return (2026)

The Diamond Jubilee reunion

The road back began in July 2026. For the 75th episode of Indian Idol, a Diamond Jubilee special, the show brought back former contestants, and the reunion of the two season-one finalists was its centrepiece, IANS reported. When Abhijeet sang his old hit “Mohabbatein Lutaunga”, Amit joined him for the number.

He told the show that none of the original batch, himself, Aditi Paul and Prajakta among them, could have pictured standing on the same stage 22 years later. “It’s a very big thing,” he said. Speaking to Filmibeat, he added: “Walking back onto the Indian Idol stage after all these years brought back a flood of memories.”

A second shot at the title

Season 17 turns that reunion into a full competition. Titled Indian Idol: Legends Return, it brings back past winners, runners-up and finalists to compete again, with Himesh Reshammiya on the judges’ panel. The show premiered on 17 October 2026 on Sony Entertainment Television and streams on Sony LIV, airing every Saturday and Sunday at 8 pm, according to The Daily Jagran. See the full Indian Idol 17 contestants list for all the pairs.

The confirmed line-up includes Amit as the season-one runner-up, alongside his old rival Abhijeet Sawant, Season 10 winner Salman Ali, Mohd. Danish and Bidipta Chakraborty. In an exchange on the show reported by The Hans India, Amit welcomed Abhijeet back with a generous line: “Abhijeet Sawant ke bina Indian Idol can never be Indian Idol” (“Indian Idol can never be Indian Idol without Abhijeet Sawant”).

Personal Life

Amit grew up in Bhilai, and the town’s steel plant features in almost every account of his childhood, from his first performance to the moment his father noticed his voice. He has a brother, who auditioned alongside him for Pop Stars in 2002. He combined music with a technical education, moving to Jamshedpur for an IT degree before Indian Idol changed his direction.

Lesser-Known Facts

• He was studying Information Technology in Jamshedpur in the years before Indian Idol.
• Indian Idol was not his first audition: he and his brother tried out for Channel V’s Pop Stars in 2002 and were not picked.
• His Indian Idol audition took place in Kolkata, not in Mumbai.
• He once took third place at the All India Kiran Sangeet Samaroh in Katni and sang for Chhattisgarh at the National Youth Festival.
• His debut album was composed by Vishal–Shekhar.
• Two decades after losing the final to Abhijeet Sawant, he sang “Mohabbatein Lutaunga” with him on the Indian Idol stage.

FAQ About Amit Sana

Related Biographies

For the rest of the season-one story, read our Abhijeet Sawant biography, on the man who beat Amit to the first Indian Idol title, and our Prajakta Shukre biography, on the fellow season-one finalist who joined him at the Diamond Jubilee reunion in July 2026.