Idol in India then, double-bill hero in Nepal now - Darjeeling boy who won talent race is set for twin movie releases in neighbouring country this week

IMRAN AHMED SIDDIQUI
New Delhi, June 20: In the unlikely event of Mamata Banerjee and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee hitting movie halls in Nepal this week, they will find a common factor in not one but two love stories unfolding on the screens. The lead actor in both movies will be Prashant Tamang, whose tour of duty in uniform once took him to the homes of the current and former chief ministers of Bengal. That was before the Calcutta police constable became Indian Idol 3 in 2007 and embarked on a movie-worthy journey that has taken him to the dream merchants of the Himalayan nation. With lead roles in two romantic movies — Angaalo Yo Maya Ko and Kina Maya Ma — that are due for release on June 24 across Nepal, Prashant is unlikely to be able to find time to slip back into his uniform in a hurry, though he misses the force. “Although I would love to keep my association with Calcutta police for ever, my life has taken a completely different turn,” Prashant, who’s busy promoting his films, told The Telegraph over the phone. Angaalo Yo Maya Ko translates as “the embrace of love” and Kina Maya Ma as “why in love”. “Both are romantic films based on love stories and I play the lead characters. I would love both to become blockbusters,” said Prashant, an ethnic Nepali Indian from Tungsung village in Darjeeling. The 28-year-old is looking ahead to “producing a film” on his stint as a constable. “This will be my way of paying tribute to the force,” he said, recalling the days he spent on duty outside the homes of Mamata, now chief minister, and the man she unseated, Bhattacharjee. “I used to carry a transistor with me during night duty outside Raj Bhavan. I used to listen to songs and then practise and my colleagues used to make fun of me. But later they started respecting my love for music and encouraged me. That was how I practised before I was inducted into the police band,” Prashant said. If the talent show launched the young man, it also sowed the seeds of a new party that now controls the Darjeeling hills. In 2007, the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha was born after its president Bimal Gurung cashed in on the strong anti-Subash Ghisingh sentiment that swept through the hills during the campaign to help Prashant win the contest. The GNLF chief had refused to publicly back Prashant even as the entire Gorkha community in Bengal and across the country put its collective might behind the singer. Life for the Shah Rukh Khan fan took a dramatic turn after he won the contest in September 2007 and bagged a Rs 1-crore music contract with Sony. He became a celebrity in Nepal and started performing at live shows overseas, especially in West Asia, before joining the Nepali film industry in 2009. His debut film Gorkha Paltan, in which he played the lead character, was a hit last year in Nepal. But it hasn’t always been easy for the singer, who got his job with Calcutta police in 2002 after his father Madan Tamang, a constable with the traffic department, died. Prashant hasn’t forgotten those days. “My job as a constable with Calcutta police means a lot to me. It’s a very emotional thing as I got the job because of my father’s death. And what I am today is because of the support from my department and that’s why I don’t want to quit,” Prashant said. For now, however, Prashant is on special leave. “I have been on special leave since 2007, which means no work and no pay. The salary is not important. I hope the department will support me as it has done in the past,” he said.