From Junagadh to Dongri, how Bigg Boss 17 winner Munawar Faruqui rose from the streets
From selling samosas in Junagadh to utensils in Dongri , Munawar Faruqui has come a long way to win Big Boss 17
5 min read
Munawar Faruqui lived with his cousin Shabana and her husband Altaf Sheikh after moving from Junagadh to Mumbai. (Courtesy: Special arrangement)After losing his mother to suicide when he was 13 years old, Munawar Faruqui came to Mumbai at the behest of his aunt. Her daughter Shabana and her husband Altaf Sheikh gave the young boy shelter and asked their tenants if they could offer him a job. Soon, a young Faruqui was selling utensils, a job he did for three years in Dongri’s Null Bazaar. This wasn’t his first job though– in previous interviews Faruqui admitted to dropping out of school, working long hours at a shop and frying and selling samosas along with his mother in Junagadh to make ends meet.
“I still remember the day he came to our home,” said Shabana, adding, “he was a very mature and hard-working boy who was keen on learning new skills.” Speaking to The Indian Express over a telephone call from Faruqui’s residence in Wadala where the trio has been celebrating, she said, “Today he and all of us are on cloud nine (laughs). We are very thankful to God for taking him where he has reached.”
After Null Bazaar, Faruqui found work at an advertising agency in Mumbai Central where he joined as an errand boy, learning on the job and becoming a creative director within four years. He continued that job till 2018, quitting only to pursue comedy wholeheartedly. His initial burst of success came in April 2020 after his standup comedy video titled “Dawood, Yamraaj & Aurat” received a warm reception.
Posters of Munawar Faruqui in Dongri. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)
However, in January 2021, Faruqui was arrested from a venue in Indore after a complaint from the son of a BJP MLA accused him of making jokes about Hindu deities and Home Minister Amit Shah. The arrest was met with heavy criticism from fellow comedians as well people across the globe. Faruqui spent 37 days in jail and was released after the Supreme Court granted him bail. His next endeavour was the reality show Lock Upp in 2022, which he won and thus began his upward trajectory of stardom which exploded with Bigg Boss 17.
A day after winning the reality show, Faruqui visited Dongri and was welcomed by a swarm of fans, the videos of which went viral on social media.
“He was barely 14 years old when he started working here, he was shy and chulbula (bubbly),” recalled Javed Mehtab, 45, an employee at a utensil shop in Null Bazar and a friend of Faruqui’s for many years.
“He was working in the shop next to ours and since we were all in the same business, there was some competition. If I stopped a passerby, nudging them to buy something, he would come immediately and ask them to come to his shop and even then, he was good with words (laughs). But the affection we had for each other superseded it all (smiles),” added Mehtab, who is expecting Faruqui to stop by his shop in a day or two.
“He visits every fortnight or so on his bike, disguised in a skull cap, face mask and glasses. He visited me before entering the house of Bigg Boss,” he shared.
When we asked him what Faruqui’s win meant for him, he immediately showed us a video on his phone where we could see his family hooting and shouting as actor Salman Khan lifted Faruqui’s arm and announced him as winner. “I too come from Junagadh, his win is a win for our native place, for our community here, and for our religion. I am very very happy,” he added.
Parvez Saeed. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)
The same sentiments were echoed by other shopkeepers and their employees. “We are happy beyond words can explain. He was working with us, he was a part of our group, and look at where he has reached,” said Parvez Saeed, 53.
When asked about his time in jail, Mehtab defended him, saying, “Even when he was jailed, he wasn’t at fault. What he said was in the taste of comedy, something that has happened to a lot of comedians.”
Stating that “all’s well that ends well”, Faruqui’s brother-in-law Altaf Sheikh said that one has to struggle to reach heights of success. “Nothing comes easy. He didn’t become a star overnight, he worked hard,” said Sheikh, adding that it is a win for everyone. Expressing his joy, he recites a few lines: “Hamare ghar ka chota sa chirag, Hame kya pata tha ki yeh chaand, ye sitare, ye kehkasha, Tujhi se roshni churate hai, ay Munawar (A little lamp in our house, little did we know, the moon, the stars and the galaxy, all borrow their light from you, Munawar).”
Shabana recalled his time in jail as a dark phase in their lives. “We were cut off from the world. Our lives had stopped for a while, we couldn’t even meet him then,” she shared, adding that things have changed drastically. “Earlier my neighbours and relatives would call him Shabana’s brother and now they call me Munawar’s sister. I am so proud.”
During his time in the house of Bigg Boss, some revelations were also made about his relationships and marriage. Responding to this, Shabana said, “It is his personal matter and he will sort it out. We will always support him.”
You May Like
