Worker in Dubai wins 10 times his salary in talent contest

Dubai - He performed a Sukhwinder Singh song.

A worker in Dubai has won almost 10 times his salary during a talent hunt contest over the weekend. Indian electrician Mohammed Shahid went home Dh10,000 richer after crooning a Sukhwinder Singh song during the second edition of the Colors Ka Sartaj show.
This is the second time this year Shahid has impressed the judges. Last May, he won Dh5,000 at another show in Dubai.
"I gave the previous prize money to a friend as his sister's marriage was stalled. I think God was pleased with my gesture and he gifted me double that amount in this talent show. I am building a house in my village in Bihar and needed money to get things going. I can't thank the Colors team enough for giving this opportunity," an emotional Shahid told Khaleej Times.
Expats from the blue-collar community in the UAE showed off their dancing, singing and acting skills during the grand finale of the talent hunt contest. Over 1,000 workers cheered and celebrated as their peers performed.
Customer service executive Rodel Francisco from the Philippines won Dh5,000 as the first runner-up for his mellifluous rendering of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".
Kamal Rai, a 26-year-old Nepali choreographer who works as an office boy/cleaner, performed a musical parody delving into the struggles and happiness of a blue-collar worker's life. "I was a choreographer and teacher in Nepal. Since my family was financially struggling, I came to the UAE, but couldn't find a job matching my skills and became a cleaner. This is the story of many workers and I demonstrated it in my dance moves," he said.
Kamal bagged the third prize and took home a cheque of Dh2,000.
Bollywood star Javed Jaffrey, one of the jury members at the show, said: "These workers deserve fun as they toil hard and don't have much to look forward to. It is not easy to survive through hard physical labour, tough weather conditions, long working hours and hardly any appreciation. Being able to receive compliments for one's talents brings immense happiness. This is a platform where workers get to perform in front of a large audience on a big stage and adds a celebrity element."
Launched by IndiaCast in 2018, the show was created to reward the hidden talents among the UAE workers' community. The talent hunt reached nearly 65,000 workers from over 60 labour accommodations in the country. It conducted two rounds of auditions after which 15 finalists were selected to compete in the grand finale on Friday.
saman@khaleejtimes.com

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