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Hi All. I wish to share this beautiful article on Qazi-RR which I had read long before I joined IF-FG forum.
It had appeared in Mumbai Buzz section of Times of India newspaper. I am sure all FG fans here would like it.
To link to the article is given below:
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mmbuzz/mminner.asp?sectid=23&sec tname=Relationship
The Odd Couple
Having braved the national spotlight, Fame Gurukul's Rooprekha Banerjee and Qazi Touqueer tell Rishi Majumder how to work a tele-team
How do you establish a healthy working relationship with someone who's your diametric opposite? How do resist venting your frustration on your teammate, as the performance pressure mounts? How do you keep that trust going when another partner—politics—steps in? Qazi Touqueer and Rooprekha Banerjee, the winning team of TV talent show Fame Gurukul, spill the beans.
DISCORDANT DUO
He's a Kashmiri who can't understand a word of Bengali. She's a Bengali who, initially, struggled with her Hindi. He openly says he's a performer first ("I saw this show as a platform for acting"). She didn't think singing had to do with anything but a voice ("It was only towards the end—after dance classes, beauty parlours and weight-loss programmes—that I got a hang of what 'performing' meant"). So what made these two gel so well together? "I think the fact that we were so different clicked on stage," smiles Touqueer, pointing out that a team can always build on individual strengths. "People liked the diversity—one person who was performance-oriented and the other who relied on her voice," he feels. But no quick-fix complacent answers were involved either. "We levelled out our glaring differences towards the end of the show. I interacted more with the audience, and Qazi worked on his singing," Banerjee points out. "All team members should give each other time to work on such things."
IMPROMPTU INSTINCT
"You can't expect to plan everything to a T. And even when you do, something's bound to go wrong," laughs Touqueer, recounting endless incidents when they were called on stage before they'd planned their cues—and one of them had to improvise. "You have to make a mental note that you'll always be 'unprepared'," elaborates the born-performer. "That way, you won't get stumped and, as a team, your co-ordination will flow naturally—it won't appear mechanical." Banerjee agrees that spontaneity is what adds that touch of magic: "It's important to make a conscious effort not to have everything rehearsed."
POLITICAL PARIAHS
"One of the few things Qazi and I had in common was that we didn't want to harm anyone else; no matter how badly we wanted to win," emphasisesBanerjee. Both admit that backbiting was rampant, as the title-call drew near, and both insist they succeeded because they stayed away from it. "If a team decides to be negative and pull others down, this'll soon start happening between the team members themselves," feels Touqueer. "Negativity is very contagious—you never know whom it'll hit." There was, in fact, a time when Touqueer had a chance to vote Rex (his only competition) out of the finals; but he didn't. "Working as a team requires respect for each other," Banerjee commends. "If you play dirty against others, your co-members are bound to lose that respect for you."
PERFECT HARMONY
The savvy duo insists that it isn't enough to just grow and learn individually. You also have to be aware of each other's growth and adapt your joint strategy accordingly. While Banerjee improved her Hindi and then learned to dance,Touqueer worked on his singing. And they soon realised it wasn't sensible anymore for the jodi to continue with the gig of Touqueer playing audience connector, while Banerjee let her voice do the dancing. "So we reworked our act completely," he says about their winning formula. "We started working on ideas that had both of us singing, moving and making contact with
the audience."
FAME FUNDAS
* Touqueer and Banerjee met when they were paired for an earlier audition, long before the finalists were chosen. "On instinct" (as Touqueer puts it), they sang Ek Main Aur Ek Tu, which led them to top that duet round. Interestingly, it was the same number that won them the Fame Jodi title in the finals.
* When Touqueer had entered the 'danger zone' (close to being eliminated) in the beginning, Banerjee used to tease him saying, "Don't waste time, practise. Sur nahin lag rahaa hai (You aren't hitting the right note)." Towards the finals, when she was in the same soup, he returned the compliment!
* Touqueer has never studied music and his previous public performances were only plays in Srinagar. Banerjee has trained in classical music from Class VII and "in school, I only sang while others danced". But both youngsters hail versatile singer-actor Kishore Kumar as their idol.
Thanks. Take care.
It had appeared in Mumbai Buzz section of Times of India newspaper. I am sure all FG fans here would like it.
To link to the article is given below:
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mmbuzz/mminner.asp?sectid=23&sec tname=Relationship
The Odd Couple
Having braved the national spotlight, Fame Gurukul's Rooprekha Banerjee and Qazi Touqueer tell Rishi Majumder how to work a tele-team
How do you establish a healthy working relationship with someone who's your diametric opposite? How do resist venting your frustration on your teammate, as the performance pressure mounts? How do you keep that trust going when another partner—politics—steps in? Qazi Touqueer and Rooprekha Banerjee, the winning team of TV talent show Fame Gurukul, spill the beans.
DISCORDANT DUO
He's a Kashmiri who can't understand a word of Bengali. She's a Bengali who, initially, struggled with her Hindi. He openly says he's a performer first ("I saw this show as a platform for acting"). She didn't think singing had to do with anything but a voice ("It was only towards the end—after dance classes, beauty parlours and weight-loss programmes—that I got a hang of what 'performing' meant"). So what made these two gel so well together? "I think the fact that we were so different clicked on stage," smiles Touqueer, pointing out that a team can always build on individual strengths. "People liked the diversity—one person who was performance-oriented and the other who relied on her voice," he feels. But no quick-fix complacent answers were involved either. "We levelled out our glaring differences towards the end of the show. I interacted more with the audience, and Qazi worked on his singing," Banerjee points out. "All team members should give each other time to work on such things."
IMPROMPTU INSTINCT
"You can't expect to plan everything to a T. And even when you do, something's bound to go wrong," laughs Touqueer, recounting endless incidents when they were called on stage before they'd planned their cues—and one of them had to improvise. "You have to make a mental note that you'll always be 'unprepared'," elaborates the born-performer. "That way, you won't get stumped and, as a team, your co-ordination will flow naturally—it won't appear mechanical." Banerjee agrees that spontaneity is what adds that touch of magic: "It's important to make a conscious effort not to have everything rehearsed."
POLITICAL PARIAHS
"One of the few things Qazi and I had in common was that we didn't want to harm anyone else; no matter how badly we wanted to win," emphasisesBanerjee. Both admit that backbiting was rampant, as the title-call drew near, and both insist they succeeded because they stayed away from it. "If a team decides to be negative and pull others down, this'll soon start happening between the team members themselves," feels Touqueer. "Negativity is very contagious—you never know whom it'll hit." There was, in fact, a time when Touqueer had a chance to vote Rex (his only competition) out of the finals; but he didn't. "Working as a team requires respect for each other," Banerjee commends. "If you play dirty against others, your co-members are bound to lose that respect for you."
PERFECT HARMONY
The savvy duo insists that it isn't enough to just grow and learn individually. You also have to be aware of each other's growth and adapt your joint strategy accordingly. While Banerjee improved her Hindi and then learned to dance,Touqueer worked on his singing. And they soon realised it wasn't sensible anymore for the jodi to continue with the gig of Touqueer playing audience connector, while Banerjee let her voice do the dancing. "So we reworked our act completely," he says about their winning formula. "We started working on ideas that had both of us singing, moving and making contact with
the audience."
FAME FUNDAS
* Touqueer and Banerjee met when they were paired for an earlier audition, long before the finalists were chosen. "On instinct" (as Touqueer puts it), they sang Ek Main Aur Ek Tu, which led them to top that duet round. Interestingly, it was the same number that won them the Fame Jodi title in the finals.
* When Touqueer had entered the 'danger zone' (close to being eliminated) in the beginning, Banerjee used to tease him saying, "Don't waste time, practise. Sur nahin lag rahaa hai (You aren't hitting the right note)." Towards the finals, when she was in the same soup, he returned the compliment!
* Touqueer has never studied music and his previous public performances were only plays in Srinagar. Banerjee has trained in classical music from Class VII and "in school, I only sang while others danced". But both youngsters hail versatile singer-actor Kishore Kumar as their idol.
Thanks. Take care.
Kabhi Neem Neem Kabhi Shahad Shahad
Debate Mansion
