Meiyang Chang: phir bhi dil hai hindustani
Meiyang Chang’s achingly innocent voice and humble demeanor make him sound like a young Kumar Sanu. I’m rooting for him to win Indian Idol, and not only because of his voice. Chang winning would throw a fag on the pyre of the idea of India as a nation-state. He would throw in the BJP’s face the idea that the cow belt has a monopoly on who’s a true Indian. He would do it in the most patriotic way possible, singing the songs all of northern India knows. Once you see Loins of Punjab Presents, you might find a certain resonance.
But until Chang lands in the finals, it’s painful watching him go through the whole ‘But you look Chinese!’ routine every round. Here he’s asked to speak the other tongue, and his response is brilliantly subversive: he claims the only words he knows are, ‘I don’t speak Chinese.’ Watching Chang parry casual Indian racism is like watching Aishwarya play Sati-Savitri on screen. They’re masters.
It was odd meeting native Hindi speakers in Bombay who looked exactly like the Asian-Americans I grew up with in California. But the effect wears off quickly, especially in cities like Bombay and Calcutta with sizeable Chinese-Indian populations. The hayseed act wears thin on screen.
Here’s Chang singing ‘Aao Na (Please Come)’ from Kyun! Ho Gaya Na (Why? It Happened, Right). His interpretation is actually sweeter and more haunting than the original, which is quite a trick since the original singer is female:
Here he is singing ‘Ek Nazar Mein Bhi (In Just One Glance)’ from Taxi No. 9211:
And here are many, many more.
on Wednesday, June 13th, 2007, 3:42 pm in Issues, Music, TV, Video clips › 
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me too !!!
Indeed!
He does have a really nice voice and an adorable stage presence. He is very cute.
is there someway to vote for him in the U.S. ?
Maybe we should put our Midwestern call centers to use.
I really like him too! Another one on the Chang bandwagon!
Anu Malik is a dolt though…’the dynasty comes from China?’ Tee Hee.
it’s as if they’re seeing some sort of extra-terrestrial alien for the first time - how does he look? how does he talk? why is he here? what else can he do? i guess that’s the con of reality shows - always trying to slot the participants to garner audience interest. but some of the comments are insane. i hope he wins - he really seems to have all that is required.
This Meiyang Chang you speak of, he must eat Gobi Manchurian, no?
I dont know if it’s racist - but the whole deal is extremely rude from start to finish. for those who cant follow hindi - the woman actually said, “It isnt right if a Chang doesnt speak Chinese, so sing a line in Chinese”. I was too embarassed to watch any further, but I can imagine what crap is being slung his way. All this would be enervating to a lesser person but Meiyang seems to be handling it with good grace.
Good luck kid - all the best.
I don’t think you can characterize asking to sing in Chinese as racism, in previous seasons some South Indian contestants were asked to sing in their native tongue. So its all good, compared to what Sanjaya faced..
I am very very impressed. This guy’s got a great voice and more importantly, looks like he’s not got one retaliatory bone in his body. I especially love the fact that he says “My forefathers are Chinese. I’m Indian.” Very very well said.
For a country (1)where two of the Presidents have been Muslims, (2)where a Woman has been a PM , (3) where another woman, who was a non-citizen until it became politically imperative to become indian citizen (& a Christian), is currently the de-facto PM, (4) where Cricket - passion of millions, was lead by a muslim ……..no need for Chang’s sucess to define India as nation-state. India as a nation state officially has adopted “Unity in Diversity” since independence.
And your obession on what BJP or RSS idea of true Indian is ridiculous. From what I know, Chang probably would make BJP or RSS or for that matter any one proud. To think that his win would roil BJP would be futile - if you didn’t know, BJP has hailed Sania Mirza, Munaf Patel, Irfan Khan and showered accolades on each of them. It was BJP - who championed Abdul Kalaam for President’s post.
i wonder if Chinese women drive like shit in India, too.
I just want to say that, Chang is a great Singer with a magical voice. And he has got the personality to compliment his voice.. Where ever his for fathers are from, who cares!!! I care about his singing and its awesome..
I hope for his win..
I don’t think you can characterize asking to sing in Chinese as racism, in previous seasons some South Indian contestants were asked to sing in their native tongue. So its all good, compared to what Sanjaya faced..
Problem with this line of thinking is that Chinese is not his native tongue. Growing up in Calcutta, Bengali and Hindi would come first. Second, I’ve met South Indians who grew up in Delhi, and cannot speak a South Indian language. Growing up in NY, I can speak Bengali, but it is not my native tongue
The lesson here is that one should not look to show business to demonstrate some sort of enlightenment. Just cause they’re on TV does not make them wise.
I don’t care if his forefathers were Chinese,he IS an Indian. I love his voice and he has got all it takes to be the Indian Idol. By the way,did I mention how cute he is?
I am rooting for Meiyang too….I think he is very cute and a brilliant singer. He , has what it takes to be an Indian Idol. I definitely cannot say the same for Indiol Idol2 winner and think that it should have been Amey Date but thats history now. I just hope Chang wins this one !
Just the fact the ppl on Indian Idol are using his last name speaks volumes about the ignorance of our people. In any asian culture it is considered rude to do so.
Umm…Amby, I don’t know what particular asian cultures you’re thinking of but in Korean, Japanese, and Chinese cultures, you normally call people by their last name. Especially Japanese culture.
Meiyang Chang made it to the top 5, but was voted out this week.
Chang….oo……my God…..I think that he’s the BEST…!!!!!! he’s really got a cool voice…!!!! it really feels bad that he has been voted out but nevertheless……he will always be in our hearts..atleast in my heart..!!!!
i lov changs voice ………if some such people r not there then vat is the need of indian idol?
Just saw Chang’s performance on youtube.com. He’s very talented. Hats off to him for doing so well. I wish he were the Indian Idol!
hmmmm…omg!!! chang!!! fresh voice…absolutely true performer on stage….very cute….adorable nd on da whole a star personality!!! very sad dat he was voted out!!! but some songs nd some beats of his still lie deep in da core of my heart…..luv u alwayz…..!!! keep smiling!!!
Err What does BJP have to do with this….
Tharki pyre baiting analogs
I am a fan of Meiyang Chang . I am very proud of him. A very talented young man. Dentist, singer. You name it. Wish you the best Meiyang Chang.