Indian Idol winner has Kashmir connect
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, February 25
A singer from Bathinda in Punjab, Sunny Hindustani, who was declared the winner of Indian Idol 11 recently, has a Kashmir connect as he once lived at Dewan Bagh in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Residents fondly remember Sunny, 21, and his days of struggle as a shoeshiner in Dewan Bagh. They say he received a good number of votes from the Valley.
“Sunny stayed at a rented room in Dewan Bagh for quite some time. He was hardworking and had many friends here. He used to live with his mother and father. We are happy over his success and wish he touches the sky. He left Kashmir in 2015 when his father died,” said M Akbar Wani, a resident of Dewan Bagh.
Apart from winning Indian Idol 11, Sunny has become a social media star as his voice resembles that of legendary Pakistani singer late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.
During the last Indian Idol season, he mostly sang the songs of the Pakistani singer. He also became famous for his rags-to-riches story from a shoeshiner to the Indian Idol winner and a Bollywood playback singer.
Another resident of Dewan Bagh, Mukhtar Ahmad, said Sunny’s mother would worry a lot about his future and the Indian Idol winner would often sing for them.
“We used to listen to him a lot as he was fond of singing. His mother used to worry a lot for him. We remember him fondly and lots of people from Kashmir voted for him,” he said.
