Chang at his cheerful bestperforming at Pond’s Fun in the Sun on June 4. Pictures by Rashbehari Das & Saradindu Chaudhury

Before starting his rehearsals for Pond’s Fun in the Sun at Nicco Park’s Wet--Wild last weekend, singer-actor Meiyang Chang spoke to t2...

What’s been keeping you busy?

I have just been all over India for India’s Got Talent. With these reality shows, you realise it is insane how much talent India has. Everytime you think ki chalo main thoda sa aur sudhar jaata hoon, you realise there are another 100 people standing right behind you who are 100 times more talented than you are. That really inspires you.

What is fun in the sun for you?

For me, it means an open place without buildings, traffic or phones… that’s the kind of fun I like. I like trekking and hiking to unexplored areas, probably with just a couple of friends. Actually I am not a very ‘sun’ person. I don’t enjoy beaches that much. I am more of a ‘mountain’ person. I have studied all my life in the mountains. I was shooting in Guwahati last month and had gone to Nagaland for just three days. To complete my incomplete vacation, I am going back to Nagaland now.

You sang on Indian Idol, acted in Badmaash Company and danced on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. What else have you discovered about yourself?

I have discovered that I am a very big pessimist to start with. My first reaction to everything is I cannot do it. Then there will be people around me who will say, ‘Why don’t you give it a shot? We are there to support you’. So then I put in my best and I realise that I am capable of doing more than I think!

Do you miss being a doctor?

I miss it sometimes. When I am just sitting at home, practising my music or indulging in some leisurely activity, I think of how we used to slog in college. Working on our patients was a big responsibility. It is not like a painting, ki aap achha karoge toh log tareef karenge, kharab hua toh koi baat nahin, you will make another one. I miss having that kind of responsibility. I get a lot of compliments but not that kind of gratitude. But looking back, I have absolutely no regrets. I am the first from my entire community to try this. I have indulged in music and a bit of art in school and college — this is just an extension of that on a much larger scale. Plus, I love to travel, so this profession has also given me the scope to do that. I won’t say that I couldn’t have asked for anything more because there are a lot of things that are yet to come. But I am very happy.

What was your turning point?

In 2006, I finished my graduation and in 2007, I finished one year of work in Bangalore. I was passing through Calcutta to go back to Dhanbad. That is when my munh boli sister, who used to live in Calcutta, told me, ‘Indian Idol ke auditions chal rahe hain. Why don’t you go for it?’ As usual, I was like, ‘Why should I go and what will I do out there... Calcutta has so many good singers’. But she pushed me and that was my turning point. I remember not telling anybody; she was the only person who knew that I was going for the auditions. It was all destined to be. Had all this not happened, I would have gone back to being a doctor. Because before this, just for fun, I had auditioned at Fame X at Swabhumi. It was a miserable audition. I made an absolute fool of myself because I was asked to dance along with singing.

Has singing taken a back seat now?

It takes a back seat each time I start shooting. I will not lie about it. When I am anchoring and my voice has to be a little loud, it goes for a toss. I try to get inspiration from a certain set of people like Monali (Thakur, his girlfriend), Shilpa Rao, Mohan (Shor In The City singer). These are guys I am close to. We sit and jam together and they give me a lot of encouragement. I am nowhere near them when it comes to singing, but they still tell me, ki koshish karte raho. That gives me hope. I am not working on any albums because albums don’t work. I would like to sing in the long term. But right now, I would like to sing and act. Hosting comes a close second.

What’s the status of your film The Seventeens?

I have absolutely no idea. This movie was being made (by Pritish Nandy Communications) just before the recession hit in 2008. I doubt it will release now. At the most, I’m hoping they can finish it and we can sit together, watch and laugh.

How did you meet Monali?

We met at the Calcutta auditions of Indian Idol 4. She had already sung songs for Race and was a star. I told her that I really liked her voice and in an era dominated by Sunidhi (Chauhan) and Shreya (Ghoshal), her voice really stood out. After that we met a few months later at Emon’s (Chatterjee, Indian Idol contestant) birthday party. Wahan sey thodi pehchaan hui aur wahan se milna-julna shuru hua. We celebrated our second anniversary on Saturday (June 4). What I had planned to do was call up a few friends of mine and try to spring a surprise, which I am very bad at. But she (Monali) made it very clear that since I am the guy, I had to do it!

When did you both connect?

Monali has a very nice way of putting it. She says our love story started in a police station. She had just come back from a show in Calcutta and someone snatched her bag at the airport. All of us went to the police station to help her. And the sparks flew! That was the first time we felt we liked each other.

What do you like most about her?

That she is lively and optimistic. Sometimes it borders on being childlike, but I like that. In this world, ridden by logic, sometimes it is nice to see her face the world with childlike innocence. Her energy rubs off on me.

Any plans to sing together?

Not until I reach her level... I am embarrassed every time we sing together.

After you won Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 4, you said Monali wanted you to spend all the prize money on her...

Maine aise hi mazak mein keh diya tha and it got distorted. It became... kya bolte hain ki my girlfriend is a gold-digger. Since then, she is like ab mera naam badnaam kar hi liya hai, toh you better buy me something!