“Mission Prashant”
-Anand Gurung
“Oh my god,” the perky anchor of the ‘Indian Idol’ singing contest exclaimed in a recent episode after viewing the huge welcome Prashant Tamang received in his hometown Darjeeling, “I’ve never seen so many people going crazy.” “I was feeling very excited,” Prashant smiling his humble smile said in response, “There were so many of my fans and supporters… they showered me with so much love.
I felt as if everybody were putting me in a very high place. It was really unbelievable.” Indeed, nothing could have been more unbelievable. For Prashant Tamang, a 24-year-old boy from the foothills of Himalayas, who, as a constable of West Bengal Police Force, sang for the police orchestra –to make it into the final rounds of probably the most watched reality show in India was no small feat. But in the competitive world of modern day television reality shows like these ensures that people keep their eyes fixed on their television sets so that billions could be made from advertising revenues. As a result, in our living rooms we see the unbelievable happening for real and see a life of a simple person turning into a fairy tale. We see aspirant singers passing through all the travails and hardships with their fellow contestants to fame and stardom (like in American Idol). We see persons’ fortune turning, see them go from “rags” to riches (like in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?). And see the intricacies of human character from close(d) quarters (like in Big Brother).
Emotions run high in shows like these because those participating in it are real people like us, not professional actors. The emotions they express are genuine, not according to any script. They laugh and sob their way to success and failure. And by showing all these to us while we sit in the cosy confines of our houses, reality shows go on to stir the very core of our human nature - the search for fortune, power and glory. Prashant : JINDABAAD Going by his popularity and the kind of public support he has received till now it would not be an overstatement to say that Prashant Tamang has already become an Indian Idol. For, who could have ever imagined that fortune would shine so brightly on this guy from Darjeeling, which is known for little more than its rolling tea estates, missionary schools and cold climate, that he would be a darling of millions of Nepalese people not only from India, his home country, but in Nepal, where his ancestors came from, and Nepali-speaking people all over the world. Who could have ever thought that this simple looking guy with a wide and cheerful smile would be welcomed in his hometown in such a manner that would probably even make Subhash Ghising or any other politician drool.
Prashant, very much like fellow finalist Amit Paul, attended programs organized in his honour, shook hands and received awards from cabinet ministers. The obsession of his supporters to see him a winner even led people to claim that he created “history” by being the first contestant of Indian Nepalese origin to make it to the final rounds of Indian Idol. It wasn’t clear why winning the contest mattered so much or what kind of history was being made – it is better to leave it for the posterity to decide.
