A recent poll conducted by a popular magazine hails Indian Idol 4 host, Meiyang Chang, as a “sex symbol” for modern India. While this achievement may hang easy on the shoulders of the Ranbir Kapoors and the Eijaz Khans, Chang, who was in the city to promote the finalists of Indian Idol 4, knows that his acceptance in mainstream India is a testament to the changing times. “When I was a kid, my classmates would tease by calling me a ‘China man’. But today things have changed. My ethnic identity never comes in the way of my career,” says Chang, who was a popular contestant in Indian Idol 3, before being voted out in the final round.

But then, this Jharkhand dentist of Chinese descent is a far cry from the stereotype of the chopstick-brandishing, kung-fu-fighting, kimono-sporting, mysterious China man. He speaks immaculate Hindi, and is as much a people’s person as any. “I might be of Chinese lineage but am as Indian as anyone. I think in Hindi and love Hindi-film music,” he says. This is probably why he can dream of a future in Bollywood. “I have just completed a Hindi film for Pritish Nandy’s banner where I play a geeky youth,” he says.