NEW DELHI, Sep 23: Prashant Tamang, a constable in the West Bengal Police, was on Sunday crowned Indian Idol after vanquishing his rival Amit Paul in a grand finale of the over-two month long talent hunt.
Prashant Tamang
Tamang, 24, who hails from Darjeeling, has undergone a journey from being a member in the police band in Kolkata to becoming the heart throb of millions of TV viewers all over the country.
The police is all about duty, force and action. Not an ambience that nurtures a singer. But this sepoy beat all odds (no formal training in music is a huge factor) to make it to the Indian Idol stage. Prashant Tamang soon had everyone wrapped around his little finger. His fans were so enthusiastic in voting for him that he has never been in the danger zone till date. Negative comments from the judges only spurred him on to do better. Now he has proven his worth and he is the Indian Idol.
The grand finale was an all North-East affair as Tamang took on 24-year-old Paul, who hails from Shillong.
The results of the talent hunt were announced at a gala in New Delhi with the final witnessing a whopping seven crore people sending in their votes.
Amit Paul
Tamang stole the centrestage with his rendition of the song Yeh Kali Kali Ankhen from the Hindi film Baazigar .
As Bollywood actor John Abraham announced Tamang the winner, the constable thanked his mother in a voice choked with emotion.
"I thank my mother, public and Bengal police for granting me the permission for participating in the show," he said.