You might know him from the famous ‘Afghan Jalebi’ song but Qazi Touqeer was trending long before the age of social media. He was a superstar, the likes of which wasn’t seen on reality TV at that time.
In 2005, Qazi Touqeer a young boy from Kashmir dreamt and dreamt big. He auditioned for a singing reality show ‘Fame Gurukul’ and won in almost surreal fashion.
Not only was he loved and adored by people from Kashmir, but he had fans all over India. He was getting millions of votes each week through SMS. The maverick singer had a cult following and a fanatical fan base, all at the age of 21.
His passionate demeanour, combining performance with singing made everyone who watched him a fan.
Despite being up against more accomplished singers, Qazi was being universally loved for who he was and his desire to reach the top was relentless. His crazy ways, quirks and the way he carried himself screamed superstar. The audience knew from the moment they saw him, he was not an ordinary singer, he was a performer, a superstar, Qazi Touqeer was the whole entertainment package.
Amazingly he won the show amidst great fan fare and millions of votes beating of stiff competition. Following this he did shows across the globe and realized his dream of being a recognized performer.
Since then Qazi has done various projects of his own. Most famously he starred in the hit number ‘Afghan Jalebi’ a few years back. He has also done covers for a variety of songs on YouTube much to the love of his fans.
Despite winning the singing reality show, Qazi says he is more of a performer and entertainer. He has regularly performed for shows and continues entertain his fan base.
Along with this, he has some of his own projects lined he hopes fan will love. Qazi also wants Kashmiri artists to project a positive image of their land and not take up roles for the sake of it. He believes the talent in Kashmir has ability to shine brightly given the right platform..
Qazi will forever be remembered as the guy who broke the glass ceiling for Kashmiris in the entertainment industry. He showed that if you are crazy enough to follow your wildest dreams, you can achieve anything.