MUMBAI: Abhijeet Sawant - a name that ruled a million hearts across India in 2005 when the singer became the first Indian Idol. It has been more than a decade since he has been in the industry and although his journey has not been smooth throughout, he believes smooth roads never make good drivers. His career is just taking off, he says.

Sawant recently sang two songs for the film 'Dhishoom' - 'Ishaqa' and 'Sau Tarah Ke', which were composed by music director Pritam. "Since one year, I have been working with Pritam. Now, I have created a good rapport with him and I guess he believes in me because to win the confidence of a music director, it takes time and good work," he told Radioandmusic.com.

Was he nervous when the 'Dhishoom' songs were going to release. "No, I wasn't nervous at all as I have been through all this before. It happened smoothly without any pressure. As soon as the songs were recorded, they were released."

Apart from singing, he has been doing comedy shows, hosting and acting. "I was busy doing reality shows and that's why was a bit tied up. Hence, could not remain consistent when it came to music," he says.

"Also, the most difficult task was of anchoring. An anchor or host - he sets the mood for a show. Therefore, everything depends on him and he needs to be spontaneous. I am a bit fearful when it comes to things for which I am unprepared," adds the singer.

Abhijeet also thinks the platform for non-film music has narrowed down gradually. Now, only playback singing holds the kind of reputation a singer needs. Even on YouTube, the songs that are released just gain views, not listenership. "For non-film music nowadays, we need to create an audience first," laments Abhijeet.

Successful singers like Arijit Singh, Neeti Mohan have struggled a lot before hitting success eventually, he says. Even the new generation reality show singers will at least take five years to establish themselves successfully in the industry, believes the first ever Indian Idol.