New Hosts For Indian Idol 4

Auditions for the Indian Idol Season 4 are in full swing and the latest news is that Mini Mathur will not be hosting this season of Indian Idol as the talented host is expecting her second kid this August. But there is a good news for Idol fans as two of the very promising and talented finalists of last year, Meiyang Chang and Deepali Kishore, will be seen hosting the audition rounds of Indian Idol this year.

Deepali's Take on Life after Indian Idol

Deepali, one of the popular contestants of the recently ended Musical Reality, Indian Idol talks about her life post Indian Idol.
Life after Indian Idol: Life has changed completely; I am a different person altogether now. My personality has changed for the better, I am more confident. Socially, people have started recognizing us and they love us.

Your First Stint as a Playback Singer: I sang with Emon for Annu Malekji. I don’t remember the movie name, but it was a Shakti Productions banner. It was a soft romantic song.
Your take on Annu Malek, the Music Director: We all thought that Annuji was very strict, but it was so nice working with him. He was like a father to me and Emon, we learnt a lot from him.

Friends with all? : Yes, we are all in touch. We are contenders later, but firstly, we are friends..

Any new offers in the pipeline: We are doing many shows for the channel, but nothing more as a playback singer.

Rocked the night after the finals, did you? : Yes, we all had a blast after the finals. We danced the whole night and had a blast.

Your best ever Concert performance: It has to be the concert I did with Prashant in Nepal. That was the best show, people there love Prashant a lot. It was raining badly, it was cold too, but all in the crowd danced their way thro’ the night and enjoyed. It was absolutely flashing, was a Hit Show.

Shifting base to Mumbai? : I really don’t know. I want to shift, but if I do, I will have to come with my mom. I cannot imagine of staying alone. When we are busy with shows, it is fine. Otherwise, I am totally jobless, and it hurts being alone.

Deepali, the Performer or the Singer: Deepali is a better performer now, after Indian Idol. But I can never compromise on my singing; I have always been like that. But now, I sing with lot of attitude that it really looks like a performance. This is a learning curve, so I am learning.
Your Future Plans: I want to establish myself as a playback singer, but it is a very tough route ahead. You can see many struggling to reach there. I need to work hard on my voice and singing. I think I need to prepare even harder for the next few years to reach this level.

Any Bollywood Aspirations: No, Deepali is better off as a singer. There are many who are more beautiful than me. As of now, I want to concentrate on singing.

We are friends and we will be friends: Prashant, Amit

Till the last few minutes before Prashant Tamang was declared the third Indian Idol, Amit Paul and him, the best of friends, kept holding hands. And when Prashant won the title, the happiness and joy was noticeable on Amit’s face too. I am really happy that my best friend has won the title, so what if I did not win, it has gone to the same house as he is my family, Amit told. To me both of us are winners and I would have been happy even if Amit would have won it, he has been with me since the beginning, added Prashant. Now, the doors are open, the birds are flying and the world is colourful for both of them after this dream-come-true event. While Prashant got a one-year contract with contest organisers Sony, Amit is confident that he will also get a number of opportunities. Now there is no looking back, I want to win the hearts of millions of people with the help of my talent and I hope this will happen, Amit maintained. But for Prashant there is a matter of concern: he has to take permission from his Kolkota police employers to make his passion a profession. I will go back to Kolkota and take the permission of my seniors to go on singing, he said. Prashant, a 24-year-old Kolkata constable of Nepali origin, hails from Darjeeling, while Amit, also 24, is from Shillong.The two singers have different expectations from Indian Idol-4 next year. One says it’s the best as it is and the other feels changes are required. I don’t think any change is required. Indian Idol is best as it is, said Amit. Prashant felt the contest should go to small towns too as there is a lot of talent there. Till the time they explore this they won’t find the true talent. Prashant attributed the bulk of his 70 million SMSs to his friends in the Kolkota police and to Mayor TB Rai of Mirik town in West Bengal. I am really thankful to my Kolkota police friends who encouraged me to participate in the show, he said.

'My world has changed overnight' --- Prashant Tamang

He's tired and excited simultaneously. He's extremely eager to go back home and meet his friends and family. The 24-year-old is yet to come out of the dream run that has just ended a few days ago.

Are you relieved?

Quite. I can't believe that from a nobody I‘ve suddenly become note worthy. My world has changed overnight. I am stunned to see that so many people gathered outside the airport to see me.

Aren't you a star now?

If I am, I owe it to all those who voted for me. I can't stop thanking them. There are quite a few people in Darjeeling and Kolkata who are special to me. I would like to meet and thank them.

You mean your colleagues in the Kolkata police department?

Yes. I know how aggressively they have campaigned for me. My seniors too who have given me so much love.

What about the celebrations back home in Darjeeling?

I heard that a holiday has been declared there and people burst crackers all night. I'm happy that I could make their dream come true.

Weren't you under pressure till you were declared the winner? Who wouldn't have been under pressure?

I would be lying between my teeth if I said I wasn't. But more than myself, I
was concerned about my mother. I could see her tense face in the crowd and knew that if I didn't win her dreams of seeing me as a singer would be shattered. Fortunately, nothing went wrong.

Didn't the announcement shatter Amit Paul's dreams?

That upsets me. I would have been equally happy if he had won. We have both got a platform. It will help us in the future. Everyone likes to win. Amit and I had become very close friends. We will continue to be.. the show's result will not affect us.

Any plans to become a professional singer now?

Definitely. So far the votes have done miracles for me. But now it's up to me and I won't let the chance slip away. I would love to sing in films too apart from the album.

What about your job with the Kolkata police?

I haven't decided yet. I have won only a few days ago. The euphoria is still there. But I am confident that my superiors will help and support me in making my dreams come true.. just the way they have been helpful so far.

Will you quit your job?

I have left that to fate.

When will you go back to Kolkata?

I want to come right now.. but I can't say when will I be able to make it.

Should the format of Indian Idol need to be changed?

After five months of hard work, music and fun, finally the wait for next Indian Idol came to an end and the title of Indian Idol 3 was bagged by the Sepoi Prashant Tamang. But it has raised a question that "Should the format of Indian Idol need to be changed?" among most of the viewers.
The procedure for the selection of an Indian Idol is similar to the selection of American Idol in the United States. I truly feel that the Idol format is not working in our country. In US where the Idol movement started, the majority of the people talk the same language, share the same food habit and mostly belong to the same religion. Their voting pattern to some extent are unbiased, but look what is happening in India. Indians are voting in favor of their state,religion completely overlooking the talent of the participants.
It is also important that SET publish all relevant information regarding voting, especially when tens of millions of people paid to cast their votes. The declaration should include a complete breakdown of the vote distribution by state and region, along with a complete listing (location, date, IP address etc.) of the single sources of votes exceeding 1,000. This disclosure would make the system transparent and would increase the public confidence in future high-profile contests
like these. At this time, I am interested in knowing how many of those seven crore votes actually originated from the sepoys of the police forces and the jawans of the armed services and how many from the rest of the voters!!

Prashant Tamang is Bharat Ki Shaan, The Indian Idol 3

Hailing from Darjeeling, Prashant has now become the Boy Next door, as he has managed to walk into the hearts of the people of India, with his lively songs. John Abraham declared the name of the winner at a glittering function in New Delhi. An ecstatic Prashant hugged his parents and thanked the Kolkata Police, judges and his fans as he accepted the prize--a one-crore music contract and a Maruti SX car. After months of hard work, perseverance and dedication, the 24 year old Prashant Tamang reached to the winning title in grand style. From being a part of the police force in Kolkata, to being the youth icon of the country, Prashant surely has come a long way. With a total of 7 crore votes that came in, Prashant Tamag got away with the maximim votes.
The runner up of third season on Indian Idol was the young heart throb of millions - Amit Paul. Amit not only managed to make it to the top 2, with the wild card entry, but was also chosen as the Brand Ambassador of Meghalaya during his journey in Indian Idol. Along with Prashant Tamag, Amit Paul too was gifted a brand new Maruti S4 car, for his brilliant performance. Both the contestants were gifted a Sony Erricson mobile phone, apart from the love and fame that they recieved over the last three months from people all over the world. We wish the lucky winner - Prashant Tamang a hearty congratulations, and wish Amit the very best for future.

Prashant Tamang -- Bharat Ke Shan

Prashant, the boy from Darjeeling and constable of Kolkata has been crowned the Indian Idol 3.People of Darjeeling and Kolkata Police are overwhelmed with joy after their own boy is crowned the title Of Indian Idol 3.7 crores Votes were casted in favor of two contestant which is a new record.People were raining votes in favor of their favorite contestants. But as you all know only One will be the winner of this show... so Amit was left out for a few votes. It's was a tough luck for Amit. But nevertheless it's time for cheer for Prashant.