Who’s that boy: Kushal Paul

Where’s he from: Sonarpur, Calcutta

What’s he done: Reached the final of Zee TV’s on-going season of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa held in Mapusa, Goa. The pony-tailed 20-year-old, called ‘Size zero rockstar’ by the show’s host Aditya Narayan, was already a familiar face in Bengal, having won the 2012-13 edition of Zee Bangla’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. He had also aced Star of Bengal in 2008 on the same channel.

Strength: His training in classical music.

Weakness: Laziness. “I don’t even like to shave.”

Best moment on the show: Singing Mone pore Ruby Roy in the RD Burman special episode in the presence of Asha Bhosle and speaking to Lata Mangeshkar on Ashaji’s phone after fellow-Calcuttan Senjuti Das made the request to the veteran singer. “She dialled the number and put the phone on speaker. From the other end, a sweet and innocent voice was heard, almost child-like: ‘Haan, bol’. We were speaking to LATA MANGESHKAR!”

Idol: Bob Marley. Not just for his music but for his philosophy of life.

Dream: To buy a house in Los Angeles.

Future plans: “I want to assist Pritamda (his team’s mentor) and pick up the ropes of music arrangement. Sa Re Ga Ma Pa is a platform for me to increase my audience. The contest result does not matter. I would have come to Mumbai anyway to work in the music industry. I will take up singing or composing — whichever work I get first.”

In the family: Kushal’s sister Isis made it to the top seven of Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs in 2013.

(The Sa Re Ga Ma Pa final airs on July 17 on Zee TV at 7pm)