Shoeshiner makes it to Indian Idol, all set for the big stage : The Tribune India

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Shoeshiner makes it to Indian Idol, all set for the big stage

BATHINDA: Remember iconic Bollywood flick Deewar starring Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay? Who wouldn’t? In it, there’s a quite popular scene, wherein small Vijay, working as a shoeshiner alongside the road, refuses to accept a coin thrown at him by one of the antagonists’ associates, Jaichand, for his services.

Shoeshiner makes it to Indian Idol, all set for the big stage

Sunny’s mother Soma (L) along with her daughter and sister-in-law at her house in Amarpura Basti.



Sameer Singh
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, October 14

Remember iconic Bollywood flick Deewar starring Amitabh Bachchan as Vijay? Who wouldn’t? In it, there’s a quite popular scene, wherein small Vijay, working as a shoeshiner alongside the road, refuses to accept a coin thrown at him by one of the antagonists’ associates, Jaichand, for his services.

That resoluteness at such a tender age was a telling sign of his character. It led the antagonist in the movie, Davar Sahab, to foretell:  “Jaichand yeh lambi race ka ghoda hai… yeh zindagi bhar boot polish nahi karega…jis din isne zindagi mein race pakdi yeh sab ko piche chhod jayega (he is the one for long haul, this boy will not polish boots for the rest of his life and in the race called life, he would surpass everyone and be an influential man one day).

Well, these dialogues from the movie remain etched in the minds of many and will continue to do so. However, these lines well befit 21-year-old, Sunny, who works as a shoeshiner outside the city bus stand here. Sunny has won ‘Golden Mic’ and has now been selected in the auditions for the eleventh season of popular singing reality show – Indian Idol. Possessing the grit and zeal akin to that of Vijay’s character in the movie, Sunny also knew deep down that he would make it big some day. 

Sunny lives with his mother and three sisters in Amarpura basti in a ‘vehra’ (a small dingy kutcha house). While auditioning, he sang a  song of legendary singer Nusrat Ali Khan — ‘Afreen Afreen’. Judges of the show were awestruck after his rendition and it inspired an immediate yes from them followed by a standing ovation.

On a visit to his house in Amarpura Basti, barely at a distance of 15 metres from a railway track, The Tribune team discovered that the house was situated in a not so hygienic place and the area was littered with pigs feeding over garbage. Also, the house possessed meagre articles – a cot, a trunk, a harmonium and two utensils, which he would use as drums to play on.

With a twinkle in her eyes, his mother Soma, said: “All our lives we have been besieged with trouble. Even managing three-square meals a day is difficult. We do not have drinking water facility and since we couldn’t afford to pay the electricity bill, we are now residing without it. I have become so accustomed to this lifestyle that it has stopped bothering me. However, I rejoice in the fact that my son would finally be pursuing his passion. Whenever he gets accolades, my heart swells with pride.”       

Initially, Sunny’s mother did not believe him when he broke the news of him being selected in the auditions. However, when his uncle read out the letter confirming the news, tears started rolling down her cheeks.

She said, “ I spent years selling balloons and in exchange I would ask for rice as alms from people. However, that couldn’t earn us enough money. We couldn’t repay the debt (taken for marrying off our two daughters) even after selling our previous house.”

Sunny’s sister Rekha said, “There would be a fight in our house over my brother’s indulgence in music everyday. My parents would reprimand him to earn money by polishing boots than killing time in something as futile (as perceived by them) as singing. They would say, singing is never going to fill the stomach of family. Interestingly, my father was also a singer and used to perform at fairs.” “Sunny has not received any professional training in singing and has learnt everything from listening to music on his phone followed by rehearsals on his own.”

His father, a shoeshiner, too, passed away in Srinagar in 2014. “While many in his vicinity and relatives played the role of a naysayer on his prospects of becoming a singer, Sunny had a strong conviction in his abilities. His unconditional love for his passion established a faith in him that he would make it big some day,” said his uncle Vijay Kumar. His audition video has been making rounds on the social media platforms.

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