PRASHANT’S SAGA OF SINGING: The Soldier reaches the final frontier -------------------------------- By Avash Karmacharya Prashant Tamang, a hard working boy from the idyllic hills of Darjeeling got through to the grand finale of the highly watched reality show on Sony TV — Indian Idol after Saturday night's elimination round. With Emon, one of the Top 3 contestants, being voted out, Prashant will be vying for this mega title with Amit Paul in next week's grand finale. However, Prashant and Amit will still have to wait for two more weeks to win this competition. On Friday night's gala round, Prashant sang popular Hindi songs such as the legendary Kishore Kumar's Ek Ladki Bheegy Bhagi Si and Kunal Ganjawala's Bhige Hoth Tere. Similarly, Emon who got ousted sang Ye Jo Mohabbat Hai and Ban Ke Tera Jogi while another finalist of this ground breaking phenomena — Amit Paul sang Kora Kagaaz Tha Ye Mann Mera and Gustakh Dil. Talking more about Prashant being selected for the final gala, Benup Raj Bhattarai, Kantipur reporter in Darjeeling shared Saturday afternoon, “One of sources in Mumbai revealed us that Emon got voted out. And as always, people in Darjeeling are celebrating his success like anything. People from Chitawan have also started coming to the town to vote for him. By Friday night, Prashant's family received Rs 40,000 from the locals of Chitawan district alone.” Benup further revealed, “Chandra Prakash Sharma, who resides in the USA has sent a huge amount to vote for Prashant. Apart from the States, Nepalis living, studying or working in places such as Japan, Hong Kong, Brunei and the UK have also been sending money to PCOs in Darjeeling. Each individual is sending his/her maximum votes to support Prashant so as to make him the Indian Idol.” City Post tried to catch up with Prashant Tamang in Mumbai over phone. However, since he wasn't available we instead caught hold of Udit Narayan Jha along with other jury members Anu Malik, Javed Akhtar and Alisha Chinnai on Saturday afternoon wherein they shared their joy for Prashant to reach to the finale. ‘He's singing better by the day’ Udit Narayan Jha, Singer Since I'm also a Nepali I've deep sentiments for Prashant. And as my wife Deepa is also from Kalimpong in Darjeeling, she has already signed in Prashant for her upcoming Nepali movie. Trust me, I'm really proud of Prashant. Emon was also a very good singer but this is a reality show. And at times fate plays a major role here. Prashant is singing better each day. He has the potential and I'll make sure that I'll do anything to promote him in any capacity I can. ‘Prashant is a fighter’ Anu Malik, Music Composer We're very sad for Emon to be out of the competition but at the same time I'm personally happy for Prashant. Since, one will bag the title, it's no big deal for anyone of the Top 3 to be eliminated every week. Prashant is a fighter. I'm not saying this just for the shake of telling you but Prashant has always been one of my favorites. Despite not being a trained singer, he has been improving day by day. And I'm highly touched by his Friday night's performance. He was flawless in both singing and performance. He certainly deserved this. ‘He's a fabulous singer’ Javed Akhtar, Lyricist It's sad that Emon got voted out but I must say Prashant deserved this as he had been working very had. Now it's a very tough competition between Prashant and Amit. [Suddenly someone interrupts our conversation and asks Akhtar who he is talking with? When Javed tells the person that he's talking to a journalist from Nepal, the person (program manager) objects telling him how he could tell who has been ousted in the afternoon when the elimination episode is yet to be aired. Then…] Who told you that Emon got out of the competition? No, the results are not yet out. I just have to say that Prashant is a fabulous singer and he'll surely make through to the finale. ‘Prashant is a survivor’ Alisha Chinnai, Singer [After the organizer restricted from informing about Emon's elimination] For sure, Prashant has a melodious voice. However, I always thought that Amit and Mayank Chang would reach the finale. Prashant is fortunate in terms of receiving votes. He has tremendous fan following. And in a way it's one of the reasons why he is doing so well. But, we must also admit the fact that Prashant is a survivor. He has that zeal and hunger to win the reality show. He may not be the best singer in comparison to Amit and Emon but who cares? We're looking for a complete package, which he is to a large extent. Source: The Kathmandu Post, 9th Sept www.ekantipur.com