Idol worship gets new meaning!

Who will be the nation's very first Indian Idol? It is a multi million-dollar question. And we mean that literally.

Idol worship has found new meaning as Amit Sana and Abhijeet Sawant returned to Mumbai after a whirlwind campaign tour in Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad. As things move into to gear as the grand finale draws near, here is the lowdown on the India's biggest talent hunt:

#43000000 (43 million) -- That's the total number of votes logged in, thus far. Mind you, they are still counting. Voting via sms and telephone calls began after the airing of the finale episode, Thursday last. Lines close at 0900 hours on Saturday.

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# Surprise, surprise: The return of the remaining 9 contestants who will perform a special number together to wish Amit Sana and Abhijeet Sawant all the very best.

# 48000000 (48 million) -- The approximate viewership for the last episode that watched Amit and Abhijeet Sawant battle it out.

# Did you know the SMS response management for Indian Idol has been outsourced to mobile2win (m2w), a wireless promotions company and sister concern of contest2win (c2w) founded by Alok Kejriwal.

# Scene stealer -- Amit and Abhijeet will perform a duet together for the first time, as part of a special choreographed song that has been composed by Lionel Ritchie to create and propagate AIDS awareness in India. Richard Gere has got this arranged to promote AIDS awareness.

# 9.7 -- TRP Rating for the episode where Rahul Vaidya was ousted from the competition.

# For responses received on telephone SET tied up with service providers BSNL and MTNL.

# 1100 hours, March 5, 2005 -- Shooting for the finale begins. This shall be telecast nationally at 2000 hours the same day.

# Key TRP towns -- Where the Indian Idol will be heading for a concert tour. Watch out for Abhijeet or Amit who might be coming to a town near you.

# For bathroom singers, hope floats. Yes, SET CEO Kunal Dasgupta has promised that the talent hunt will return for a second season. Make way then for Indian Idol 2.