Voice of Kerala: Dubai's Indian office boy sings way to glory

Farisha Hussain: Winner of Voice of Kerala show

Indian expat Amir Ali – an office boy - won the second position in Samkritha Pama Gari, a music reality show of Mappilai songs [Muslim folk songs], aired by the UAE-based Malayalam Channel, Voice of Kerala, 1152, the first AM Malayalam station in the UAE.

Areef Ali: Third place winner Voice of Kerala show

Out of the 200 participants from the UAE, Oman, Qatar and India who vied for the top positions, 12 made it to the grand finale held at the Al Naser Leisureland. They rendered songs in front of a panel of judges including singers, artists and scholars and an overwhelming 3,000-plus audience.

The tough competition saw Farisha Hussain, a singer from Kerala, take the first prize – a brand new car worth half-a-million Indian rupees. Amir Ali, a Public Relations Officer in Dubai, came second and Jaleel Payyoli from Sharjah, an office staff of Sharjah Sports Club, was judged as the third winner. Aneez from Kerala won the fourth prize and Mustafa Kadavathoor from Sharjah was the best performer.

The programme, anchored by Sulfikker Reji Mannel and famous Mappilaipattu singer Yousuf Karakkadu, was inaugurated by comedian and theatre artist Mamookkoya, himself is an authority on Mappilaipattu.

Mappilaipattu experts, Rahna, Faisal Eleyettil and O M Karuvarakundu were among the judges.

Amir Ali, the second prize winner, told ‘Emirates24|7’ that he is happy to have won the prize (10 gram gold ornament), which he said he will use for his four daughters. “I have lived in the Gulf for 23 years, 15 years in Saudi Arabia and the rest in the UAE. I am a regular singer on other music programmes and have participated in a reality show for the first time. I am also a finalist in the Kasavuthattam programme of Amrutha TV .”

Sharjah Sports Club office boy Jaleel Payyoli came in third.

“Here I lost the first prize by just one mark,” he added.

The third prize winner, Jaleel Payyoli, has been a UAE resident for nine years and is a regular at stage shows. “I am getting Rs1,00,000 prize money, which I will use to buy a plot to build a small house in Kerala. I am preparing for season two of the reality show. I took part in the auditions from 12 pm to 5 pm. I could easily participate in the show without disrupting my job. Getting up to the final is a great achievement.”  

Abubaker, Chairman, Voice of Kerala 1152 AM said he was surprised by the overwhelming response to the reality show and the 3,000-plus audience that turned out at the Al Naser Leisureland.

“There are many reality shows on television channels, but we thought of introducing a reality show on the radio for the Mappilai Pattu lovers in the region and back home. We received thousands of SMS and about 200 participants joined the competition,” said Reji Mannel, programme head and anchor of the show.

Mannel said that the show posed several challenges. “We had to take auditions through telephone calls and sometimes, we could use only prerecorded programmes. More than 2,000 SMS came from different countries and we short listed 96 people.”

“Radio Asia, another AM station, had conducted a similar programme recently,” he said.

The reality show was sponsored by Nellara Shamsudeen among others.
 

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.