Dubai: Before the beginning of this year, when Mohammad Uvais Khazi was still working in a small shoemaking unit in India, the 23-year-old wasn’t aware of the power of his voice. Seven months on, he has won big prizes at two reality shows for blue-collar workers.
On Friday, Khazi, who works as an office boy at Noor Bank for a monthly salary of Dh900, won the top prize of Dh10,000 at ‘Colours Ka Sartaj’, a talent-hunt show for blue-collar workers jointly organised by Colors TV and IndiaCast.
In April, Khazi was runner-up at Smart Idol, another talent-hunt show for workers.
- Mohammad Uvais Khazi | Winner
“I came to Dubai to work so that I could help my family back home, but I never realised that I would discover my voice here. It still feels like a dream. Since last night, I have been holding this cheque in my hand and staring at it, unable to believe what has happened,” said Khazi, who hails from the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Khazi says that his performances and the encouragement he has received over the last few months have now allowed him to dream of becoming a playback singer.
“Back home I used to sing for my friends but I never took it seriously and nobody encouraged me. With the kind of responsibility I have, I didn’t even dream of anything other than making some money for my family. There was no opportunity to get any training either,” said Khazi, who has now found two teachers who are helping him train and practise vocals.
Son of a shoemaker, Khazi has a Diploma in Computer Applications, besides having done an AutoCAD course in shoe design.
“Circumstances forced me to take up this job as an office boy, but I am not complaining. Coming to Dubai has opened up this new avenue for me and I am serious about pursuing a career in singing and looking forward to more opportunities coming my way,” said Khazi, who came to Dubai seven months back.
On Friday, another office boy, Pankaj Singh Gharti, was among the winners at ‘Colors Ka Sartaj.’ The 21-year-old Nepalese danced his way to top three, winning Dh5,000 in prize money. He was also among the winners at Smart Idol earlier this year.
The grand finale on Friday saw 14 participants from different nationalities performing at ME Platinum labour accommodation. The finalists were judged by a panel that included celebrated Indian actor Javed Jaffrey.
In his inimitable style, Jaffrey, who is known for his versatility and comic timing, entertained the crowd in between the performances.
Speaking to Gulf News, Jaffrey hailed the idea behind the event and lauded the performers.
“It is important to give opportunities to all categories of people to show their talent. I have seen over the years that there are many hidden gems, especially among labourers and they don’t get a chance to show, so this is a good platform. This is also a good platform to entertain these people who are all very hard workers and they are under constant stress, so they need this kind of events,” said Jaffrey, who was the co-founder of Boggie Woggie, one of the earliest talent shows on Indian television.
‘Colors Ka Sartaj’ covered 62 labour camps in Dubai, reaching out to about 65,000 blue-collar workers. Around 500 workers were initially registered for the contest and the number was then narrowed down to 150, who were then auditioned and 14 finalists were shortlisted. The contest was open for different talents ranging from singing and dancing to mimicry and stand-up comedy.
