Reality singing

When Qazi Tauqeer became Indian reality television's latest pin-up boy, he gave the entire Kashmir valley reason to smile.

From Mughal Gardens, where he used to bully his friend into clicking his posed photographs while mouthing Hindi film dialogues, his journey to Mumbai via Sony TV's Fame Gurukul show has been a long one.

Meanwhile, in Kolkata, Rooprekha's family has extended the Durga Puja celebrations especially as their darling daughter makes her debut in the Indian entertainment industry.

Busy with recording and makeover sessions, both Qazi and Rooprekha "" Sony television's first 'Fame Jodi' "" are getting used to their lives complete with Alto cars, Rs 50 lakh each in their kitty and of course, a lot of media attention where they occasionally tend to goof up.

Take their first interview on a news channel, for instance, where Rooprekha blurted out that she and Rex (Fame Gurukul's first runner-up) weren't too comfortable with each other in the last few weeks of the show.

The news channel later presented an edited version of the interview and deleted the controversial bits from the show. A former contestant on condition of anonymity confirms, "Yes, there was a problem between the two of them, especially after returning from Kolkata."

Another contestant is a little sceptical about whether the Rooprekha-Qazi jodi will even last that long. Love them, hate them, it's just impossible to ignore the brand new idols of Indian reality TV.

And for quite some time, it seems both Qazi and Rooprekha will be the topic of conversation all over the country, especially in the muhhalas of Srinagar and the dusty bylanes of Kolkata.

In Srinagar, Qazi's home is almost like a tourist spot, what with hordes of people just waiting outside his house, staring at the main door, sitting there and narrating tales of how their latest hero was once their best friend or that innocent boy who loved dancing but wept every time he heard bombs and guns scar the face of his home-town.

Children in Srinagar see him as their hero today, while the elders of his own extended family and the rest of Srinagar can't stop raving about their new idol.

"I always wanted to be famous and rich," says Qazi Tauqeer as we manage to tear him away from Tunes Studio in Mumbai where he's recording duets and solos with Rooprekha for their first album, Ye Pal.

Coming from a fairly academic family "" his mother is a teacher, his father a lawyer-turned-Sufi "" Qazi remembers "being obsessed with his looks at a very young age".

With a huge mirror that was placed in his bedroom where he posed merrily, the innumerable dents in the wooden flooring bear evidence of his non-stop dance performances when he remained confined for innumerable hours.

"My parents have been encouraging but I guess it was hard for them to have a son who was so obsessed with the typical filmi song-and-dance act," he laughs. So why did he miss out on previous reality shows like Indian Idol? "Oh, I thought I was meant to be a superstar! I didn't think I needed a reality show to prove myself."

He admits he was wrong "" the praises showered on Abhijeet Sawant (the current Indian Idol) shook him from his siesta. "He got all that adulation from a reality show. I thought if he could get it all, I was far more capable," Qazi grins. He's right.

Shunned by judges, faculty and fellow contestants on the show for paying attention to his acting antics rather than singing, he has cornered nearly 2 crore votes all by himself in the show. "In one of the episodes, of the total of 66 lakh votes, I received 44 lakh votes," he says with pride.

While Qazi's unshakeable confidence in himself gave him the courage to fetch the 'Fame Jodi' title, for Rooprekha the programme had started taking its toll, especially in its last phase.

While her parents are still busy distributing pastries and cakes from their shop where they run a catering business, there was a time when her physician flew down from Kolkata when she was unable to bear the pressures of the competition.

"It was killing," says this Ist year BSc student "" incidentally, Qazi too is a Ist year BSc student "" who feels her studies will have to take a back seat at least for a year.

The lives of these new stars have certainly changed for the better. Rex, for instance, has bid adieu to the call centre where he once worked. "I've just finished a live show with Abhijeet Sawant," he says while he signs autographs for his newfound fans.

"I have," he says, screaming to make himself heard as fans screech in the background, "shows with other Indian Idol contestants too." Sony BMG is now taking care of his live shows and according to him have nearly "six months of shows lined up right now".

Moreover, he says "the music company has promised to look after my career for the next two years." Meanwhile, Rooprekha is fine-tuning Qazi's vocal skills with her classical singing training, while he's "busy advising her to lose more weight".

Qazi's mother is happily house-hunting as her 20-year-old son gets ready to invest his cheque of Rs 50 lakh.

Clearly, these new stars of Indian television have begun to get used to a life in the fast lane. Remember, these are just the first baby steps they've taken to reach the main gate of the Indian entertainment industry.