Dubai: An Indian blue-collar worker in the UAE was on Friday awarded Dh10,000 for winning the ‘Colors Ka Sartaj’ talent hunt contest in Dubai.
Mohammad Shahid from the Indian state of Bihar won the hearts of the judges and the audience with his singing performance featuring the hit Bollywood single ‘Lagan Lagan Lag Gai Hai’, from the 2003 Salman Khan-starrer Tere Naam.
The winners of the second edition of ‘Colors Ka Sartaj’ were announced at a ceremony on Friday in Dubai. The grand finale, held at the Dulsco Village Arena in Al Quoz, saw top 15 participants compete for the title. The talent hunt caters specifically to the labour workforce in the UAE. It tests their talents in categories ranging from music, dance, singing, acting, stand-up comedy and mimicry, among others.
The competition started with two rounds of auditions held last month, after which the finalists were selected to compete in the grand finale.
Rodel Francisco, an artist from Philippines, took the first runner-up prize of Dh5,000 for his performance of the hit Bollywood number Tum Hi Ho.
Kamal Rai from Nepal grabbed the second runner-up spot for his dance performance that depicted the struggle of a labour worker in the UAE. He was awarded a cash prize of Dh2,000.
Launched by IndiaCast in 2018, ‘Colors Ka Sartaj’ Season 2 saw participation from more than 600 labour workers from more than 60 labour accommodations across the UAE. Popular Bollywood actor Javed Jaffrey judged the participants in the grand finale.
‘Colors Ka Sartaj’ is a talent discovery platform that aims to reward the hidden talents across the UAE. The competition provided an opportunity to thousands of workers to showcase their talent in varied creative fields. Many participants will be using this as a starting point to pursue their talent, which could otherwise have been “lost amid their hectic work-life schedule in the country”, organisers said.
