Prashant has once again done it! He has utterly confused everyone. Whether it is a celebrity thing or simply a self inflected hallucination that we all suffer… when it comes to Prashant Tamang, I for one am always confused. On 2nd July 2008, he stood on the side of the West Bengal Chief Minister and stressed that ‘Gorkhaland issue should be resolved through dialogue with the West Bengal Government and within the administrative framework of the state.” Whether the statement had been drafted by the State Government or not is not important, the fact that Prashant Tamang issued it remains hurtful to many. However, the moment Prashant arrived in Darjeeling on a private visit, he retracted from his previous statements and said that he was very much in favour of Gorkhaland. But then again that was almost a year ago and everyone has forgotten it… or have they?
A few days ago, reports began flowing from the north east – news after news, photos after photo – Prashant was vigorously championing the North East for Sourabhee Campaign! I am sure most of Prashant Tamang’s fan were shocked…Why is he campaigning for Sourabhee anyway? A young friend from Delhi called me up and inquired, “Whats wrong with him? Why is he supporting for Sourabhee? Didn’t we vote for him to be an epitome of Gorkha Renaissance? Wasn’t he supposed to be the one who would rally Gorkhas from all over the nation and indeed from all over the world? Why is he not fulfilling his responsibility? He has not gone to the press for once rallying for Kapil Thapa…” I had no answers. A flurry of inquiries directed to Prashant Tamang now in Guwahati however, resulted in the following statement – “Please tell the people that I have been professionally forced to support Sourabhee. My heart however, goes out for Kapil Thapa, there is no doubt about it. I request all Gorkhas not to take me negatively. It is simply my professional compulsion. Please vote for Kapil.”
So Prashant Tamang is supporting Sourabhee outwardly, in fact, championing the North East for Sourabhee Campaign, while his heart secretly supports Kapil. I guess, we will have to believe him… after all, the judges especially Javed Akthar crying out “This platform is a temple where the best talents in the nation are chosen. No regional, racist and religious nepotism should be reflected here…” must also be respected. The Sony Entertainment Inc, which is running the show, however, has been playing with the sentiments of the people and ripping a rich financial benefit. For, if indeed Prashant is right and Sony Entertainment has whipped up a North East for Sourabhee Campaign headed by Prashant Tamang simply to aggravate the Gorkha people and make them vote more aggressively for Kapil Thapa at the same time gain good business from the entire North East, Indian Idol as a platform has lost all its credence at least for me. I have this to say to Sony Entertainment…stop whipping up the sentiments of the people and earning money – true you are providing a good platform for the talented singers from all over the nation and true we love voting for our favourite singer, but the fact is … it is you who have turned this platform into a regional and racial competition. While this might be good for business for you… it might not be very good for the solidarity among the people.
Prashant is a good man. He is a good singer, no matter what he had been told since the day he was crowned Indian Idol 3. But beyond being an Indian Idol and a man with 1 Crore contract with Sony BMG and others, he is also a man in social contract with the fans, who love him and look upto him. True, he has his obligations and his duties towards his employers and bosses but a total negation of the aspirations and the love of the very people who voted him to that level will be detrimental to him. He can head the campaign for Sourabhee and travel all over the North East but a single photo session with Kapil, a candid reach out to the fans asking them to vote for Kapil would have done him ages of good. Prashant must learn to balance the commands of his bosses and the requests and aspirations of his fans. If he is to repeat the same statement…”I am sorry, my heart goes out to him but my boss wants me to support someone else…” the time might come when he will not have any fans… and when there are no fans left, the bosses leave before you can even complete your wink.
Prashant… best of luck to you on your endeavours, do remember us, your fans and supports. Out heart and our votes at this moment however, goes to Kapil, not because he is a Gorkha but beacause he is someone we like. My mother says he is cute and that he sings well. And everytime Javed Akthar, Anu Mallik and the rest scorn him with negative comments she spends almost the entire second quarter of the night voting for him. When I ask her why is she voting for him, she tells me, she hated the way Javed Akthar and the gang treated him…I sometimes think, maybe Javed Akthar and the rest of judges pass on negative comments every week simply to make us vote more or that since they are so scornful of a contestant whom we relate to that we vote and ask others to vote for him… Either this is – Television making us go nuts or us making the Television people go nuts only history will tell. One thing is for sure…. may be we are believing too much what the ‘idiot box’ is tell us.