With only eight of them left, we caught up with the Indian Idol class of 2007 -- and came away smiling at a fresh, naive group of kids. Here's a look at four of thrilled, anxious aspirants, in the first part of this series.

Abhishek Kumar, 20. Dhanbad

Best known for his baseball cap -- something that hasn't left his head (don't worry, the boy washes it) since Sonu Nigam appreciatively touched it at a college festival last December -- Abhishek's smoothly slipped into Bollywood savvy. He has 250 caps, and superbly handles the inevitable comparison with current music supremo Himesh Reshammiya. 'He wears his cap straight, I wear mine backwards. So you can call me Reshammiya Himesh.'

Part of the unlikely Dhanbad contingent -- three strong finalists remain from the small Jharkhand town -- Abhishek comes from an engineering background, evidenced by his dad and siblings. He was studying Computer Science in Bangalore before dropping his final year exams for Idol.

"But I had the passion," he says. Taking to singing two-three years ago, this is a star-struck youth, visibly ecstatic as he talks about being put up in the same room former Idol hopefuls Amey Date and Sagar stayed in. "Feels like I'm following in their footsteps," he says, ignoring the fact that neither of the mentioned boys could win the show.

The Idol kids are kept in two apartments, separated by gender. The boys have been having a blast, all staying in one flat, two to a room. "If someone leaves this group, it'll be very sad. We live like a family. Even if we return home at 3 in the morning, all six will sit in one room and do masti. There's no phone, no newspaper, no TV, but we end up having a lot of fun anyway," he grins. "And we really don't want anyone to be eliminated now. I think anyone can end up as the Idol, but we're already Idols in a way."

He smiles as he talks about his changing life. "In the market, or in the car," he begins, then grins bashfully. "When people see the cap, they think of me. They yell, come up to me. It feels great!" he exclaims.

And then there's the reaction back home, where the three hopefuls have been plastered across larger than life hoardings across the town and the state. "Dhanbad is a tiny place, and there are posters of all three of us. I can't wait to go back, to see the reaction. And Ma says that when she's walking down the street now, she's recognised," he pauses, visibly chuffed, "as Abhishek's mother."

"So she's very proud, and they're very emotional." And deservedly so.

Text and photographs: Raja Sen

Also Read: Meet the Indian Idol Mumbai finalists

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