Reflections of a Sameer fan

Where did it all start? For me, I noticed this little charmer right from the first round, his first performance Maajhi re. But this post is not a debate on who is good, better or best. It is about my experiences as a Sameer fan.

Every week, I would keep a lookout for the judges grades, but he was never in danger. Just the sight of him made me smile. At some point, his performances became the high point of my week. I would just get by the weekdays, in anticipation of seeing him again Friday night.

As the Little Champs contest reached its climax, and tempers on IF got heated, I became the subject of personal attacks, both on the posts and pms, although I have never pulled down any child, except maybe point out what he/she could do better. To make matters worse, Gajji introduced public voting. Although I made a resolution after C05 not to get emotionally involved again, one that I maintained during EMET, with Sameer in the limelight I started counting the votes again. So much for resolutions.

On one Friday, I had a long exhausting evening shift. I was totally drained, I guess it happens to all of us at some point. At midnight I switched on the TV for the repeat telecast of the Benaras episode. As I watched the Khaike paan performance, I literally felt my fatigue slip away, and I laughed without a care in the world.

That is a nutshell is the effect that Sameer had on us. To be honest, I could not watch all his performances due to my schedule, but thanks to the Sify clips I can go back. It would be hard to pick his best, but I would rate Maajhi re, On the roof, Tujhse naaraz, Ankhiyan, Kyun aaj kal and Chand chupa very high, and Tan tanatan as a sheer masterpiece. Tan tanatan symbolises everything Sameer stood for...melodic control, expressions, confidence.

But if Sameer excelled at tapori songs, he has also proved himself with the soulful Maajhi re (technically his best) and Tujhse naaraz ( emtotionally his best). After the show ended it was like a void that can never be filled. I could go on and on, and write pages, but it would still not be enough.

Any thread dedicated to Sameer would be incomplete without the fan club, thanks to them I could muster the courage to write these posts. CKY, the founder,; Ron, whose untiring efforts ensure that we get to see his clips; Sylvester, by far the most emotional; dazzling, guardian angel and many many more, I may not have got all the names but it does not mean your support is any less valuable. It is a relatively small (wrt to Sanchita's 100+ supporters) fan club, but very close knit, and I knew we would keep going.

Awh thats so cute biswita!! the Chota Don is the best yaar!. What is BEST in life is always up to the individual. So if you know and believe he is the best then he IS the Best. haha ROCK ON! 😉

Thanks Biswita for starting this thread.
We all know that you were always a very strong supporter of Sameer, I did not join IF whilst the contest was going on, but after the contest ended, I joined, but I used to visit IF at work and when I get time I used to read all the comments.
After Vinit lost to Debhojit in C2005 and Sharib and Bonjoystna lost in Ek Main aur Ek Tu, I swore that I would not become emotionally involved in any other contest.
Anyhow, I began watching the LIL champs program just out of curiousity, and when I saw this cute little fella with the charming naughty smile, I became more interested. When I heard him sing O Maajhe Re, I became hooked. What a rendition! so much melody and feeling, even though I felt that his voice was untrained, but it had melody.
Anyhow, my joy was overwhelming when he was chosen in the first 10. At the end of my work week, I used to look forward to Fridays and Saturdays, If I missed the 8 o'clock, then I used to watch the 12 o'clock show.
Anyhow I taped each episode.If he did not get good grades on Friday, I used to pray that he got good grades on Saturday night and not be eliminated, so I used to bite my nails, because I wanted him to stay in the cdompetition so that i can hear him sing and this was the high point of my week.
As the contest progressed, he gained confidence and when he sang Akyiyan Udeek Diyan, I began to see Sameer growing up. All his songs were beautiful renditions,especially Tujse Naaraz nahin zindagi, I listened to Lata singing it and to his rendition, and he sang it with the same feelings and softness. In fact my video store told me that after people heard him singing this song, they all wanted to buy Masoom..
I was upset when public voting was introduced, and I am sure if it was left to the judges, he would have been No 2, maybe, he would not have won, but he would have been No 2.
Another thing, this fricasse with the 112 votes was all a hoax anyhow, but even if it was true, how could they continue without Sameer, he was the crowd pleaser and he rocked the crowd, I dont know if you noticed that each show began with his performance.
Could anyone have imagined a grand finale without him?
He brought colour, josh and he rocked the crowd.
Anyhow, he still came in third, but he was the most popular.
My determination not to become emotionally involved was forgotten, and when he lost, it took me a long time to stop feeling sad, and even now there is a void left that I dont see this sweetie anymore
I swear that I will never never again become emotionally involved with any contestant, because I do not want to go through the emotions I went through with Sameer. Was very happy to see Ron's clip of him singing the theme song from Johnny, Johnny, yes Papa, and happy that he met his idol Salman Khan. A lot of doors are opened to him and I hope he enters each one with success, but still I would like to see him continue living as a normal 11 year old and continue with his schooling soon.
As mentioned by you, Biswita, we have to thank Ron for his unfailing effort to search for any news of Sameer and all his supporters e.g Ron, Kusum, Snowflake, Zain
and many others who were stunned that he did not win and they all went through the emotionally roller coaster ride of him losing. I know that there were tears in my eyes for a long time.
He seems very happy now, and as I watched him talking, I see him as a very confident young man and may God bless him and show him the right path always.

Originally posted by: dazzling star

Thanks Biswita for starting this thread.
We all know that you were always a very strong supporter of Sameer, I did not join IF whilst the contest was going on, but after the contest ended, I joined, but I used to visit IF at work and when I get time I used to read all the comments.
After Vinit lost to Debhojit in C2005 and Sharib and Bonjoystna lost in Ek Main aur Ek Tu, I swore that I would not become emotionally involved in any other contest.
Anyhow, I began watching the LIL champs program just out of curiousity, and when I saw this cute little fella with the charming naughty smile, I became more interested. When I heard him sing O Maajhe Re, I became hooked. What a rendition! so much melody and feeling, even though I felt that his voice was untrained, but it had melody.
Anyhow, my joy was overwhelming when he was chosen in the first 10. At the end of my work week, I used to look forward to Fridays and Saturdays, If I missed the 8 o'clock, then I used to watch the 12 o'clock show.
Anyhow I taped each episode.If he did not get good grades on Friday, I used to pray that he got good grades on Saturday night and not be eliminated, so I used to bite my nails, because I wanted him to stay in the cdompetition so that i can hear him sing and this was the high point of my week.
As the contest progressed, he gained confidence and when he sang Akyiyan Udeek Diyan, I began to see Sameer growing up. All his songs were beautiful renditions,especially Tujse Naaraz nahin zindagi, I listened to Lata singing it and to his rendition, and he sang it with the same feelings and softness. In fact my video store told me that after people heard him singing this song, they all wanted to buy Masoom..
I was upset when public voting was introduced, and I am sure if it was left to the judges, he would have been No 2, maybe, he would not have won, but he would have been No 2.
Another thing, this fricasse with the 112 votes was all a hoax anyhow, but even if it was true, how could they continue without Sameer, he was the crowd pleaser and he rocked the crowd, I dont know if you noticed that each show began with his performance.
Could anyone have imagined a grand finale without him?
He brought colour, josh and he rocked the crowd.
Anyhow, he still came in third, but he was the most popular.
My determination not to become emotionally involved was forgotten, and when he lost, it took me a long time to stop feeling sad, and even now there is a void left that I dont see this sweetie anymore
I swear that I will never never again become emotionally involved with any contestant, because I do not want to go through the emotions I went through with Sameer. Was very happy to see Ron's clip of him singing the theme song from Johnny, Johnny, yes Papa, and happy that he met his idol Salman Khan. A lot of doors are opened to him and I hope he enters each one with success, but still I would like to see him continue living as a normal 11 year old and continue with his schooling soon.
As mentioned by you, Biswita, we have to thank Ron for his unfailing effort to search for any news of Sameer and all his supporters e.g Ron, Kusum, Snowflake, Zain
and many others who were stunned that he did not win and they all went through the emotionally roller coaster ride of him losing. I know that there were tears in my eyes for a long time.
He seems very happy now, and as I watched him talking, I see him as a very confident young man and may God bless him and show him the right path always.

Really appreciate your and Biswita's comments and I agree with you both. Each time I too tell myself that I will not get emotionally attached........ but it just happens! The tears and the joy........ the adrenalin runs high. We feel the anguish and joy of the participants..... I remember getting PMs of one wonderful Sameer supporter for whom I was really worried that she went in a depression mode. Hey folks.........😛 but lets cheer up!! See how well Sameer is doing? Ron calls him Lamba Race Ka Ghoda...... I am beginning to believe in this!! It is really so nice to hear your views guys!!!👏😳

Sameer became my favorite since i saw him the first time.... he had sang the HR song...and was selected as top 12 contestant! Since then it was Sameer sameer sameer sameer sameer sameer! 😆 😆 😆

Also... one song that u missed .....was Ae meri zohra jabeen.... OMG.. his expressions...were soo cute and funny!!!!!

I wish him all the BEST!!! 👍🏼

Originally posted by: 2smart4u

Sameer became my favorite since i saw him the first time.... he had sang the HR song...and was selected as top 12 contestant! Since then it was Sameer sameer sameer sameer sameer sameer! 😆 😆 😆

Also... one song that u missed .....was Ae meri zohra jabeen.... OMG.. his expressions...were soo cute and funny!!!!!

I wish him all the BEST!!! 👍🏼

OMG..... did he really sing Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen?? That is a classic Qawali.... I am real sorry I missed it!! I can just see Sameer singing it too!😕

Originally posted by: dazzling star

Thanks Biswita for starting this thread.
We all know that you were always a very strong supporter of Sameer, I did not join IF whilst the contest was going on, but after the contest ended, I joined, but I used to visit IF at work and when I get time I used to read all the comments.
After Vinit lost to Debhojit in C2005 and Sharib and Bonjoystna lost in Ek Main aur Ek Tu, I swore that I would not become emotionally involved in any other contest.
Anyhow, I began watching the LIL champs program just out of curiousity, and when I saw this cute little fella with the charming naughty smile, I became more interested. When I heard him sing O Maajhe Re, I became hooked. What a rendition! so much melody and feeling, even though I felt that his voice was untrained, but it had melody.
Anyhow, my joy was overwhelming when he was chosen in the first 10. At the end of my work week, I used to look forward to Fridays and Saturdays, If I missed the 8 o'clock, then I used to watch the 12 o'clock show.
Anyhow I taped each episode.If he did not get good grades on Friday, I used to pray that he got good grades on Saturday night and not be eliminated, so I used to bite my nails, because I wanted him to stay in the cdompetition so that i can hear him sing and this was the high point of my week.
As the contest progressed, he gained confidence and when he sang Akyiyan Udeek Diyan, I began to see Sameer growing up. All his songs were beautiful renditions,especially Tujse Naaraz nahin zindagi, I listened to Lata singing it and to his rendition, and he sang it with the same feelings and softness. In fact my video store told me that after people heard him singing this song, they all wanted to buy Masoom..
I was upset when public voting was introduced, and I am sure if it was left to the judges, he would have been No 2, maybe, he would not have won, but he would have been No 2.
Another thing, this fricasse with the 112 votes was all a hoax anyhow, but even if it was true, how could they continue without Sameer, he was the crowd pleaser and he rocked the crowd, I dont know if you noticed that each show began with his performance.
Could anyone have imagined a grand finale without him?
He brought colour, josh and he rocked the crowd.
Anyhow, he still came in third, but he was the most popular.
My determination not to become emotionally involved was forgotten, and when he lost, it took me a long time to stop feeling sad, and even now there is a void left that I dont see this sweetie anymore
I swear that I will never never again become emotionally involved with any contestant, because I do not want to go through the emotions I went through with Sameer. Was very happy to see Ron's clip of him singing the theme song from Johnny, Johnny, yes Papa, and happy that he met his idol Salman Khan. A lot of doors are opened to him and I hope he enters each one with success, but still I would like to see him continue living as a normal 11 year old and continue with his schooling soon.
As mentioned by you, Biswita, we have to thank Ron for his unfailing effort to search for any news of Sameer and all his supporters e.g Ron, Kusum, Snowflake, Zain
and many others who were stunned that he did not win and they all went through the emotionally roller coaster ride of him losing. I know that there were tears in my eyes for a long time.
He seems very happy now, and as I watched him talking, I see him as a very confident young man and may God bless him and show him the right path always.

yes exactly i agree with u, when Vinit & Bonjyotsna and Sharib lost i could take it anymore so i didnt want to watch Lil Champ becuz i had a feeling that my favorite would lose like in the past and that was true. but even tho, i watched the show and Sameer was on of my favorites since the beginning. my other favorites were Sanchita, Arman, and Gurpreet, but the two younger ones got eliminated before, so that left Sanchita and Sameer. then as i heard him sing even more i got attached to his voice and he was even my favorite more than Sanchita was. every time he got scolded or a bad grade i was mad and sad, and i prayed that the next week he would still b in...one time Sameer was rly close to getting out like in the final 4 before the decision of who would b eliminated...i was so happy that he wasnt eliminated, tho, i couldnt believe that he was losing to Diwakar by 112 votes, becuz the show is nothing without him, like u said. i was so glad that he was given another chance and made the finale. but when he lost i was really angry and sad, i mean so what if he came in 3rd, atleast he made it this far right? but what bothered me most was that he didnt even come in 2nd! no offence to Diwakar fans here, lekin Sameer definetly deserved to b #2!! so i was so mad and upset that i started taking my anger out on Diwakar fans and some threads that said "Sanchita Won!" or whatever....

but i m so happy that Sameer is getting many offers and that he finally got to meet Salman Khan. i was also happy that he was with the others in the Asha & Friends album. also Ron said that Sameer was singing the title song for sum hindi show on Disney Channel. i m so happy that he is doing well tho he didnt win the competiton, but what matters more is that he won out hearts with his awesome voice!! i m glad that there r other Sameer fans who feel the same way i do. tho he is only 11/12, he is doing so well and i hope he continues to do well and has many offers.

Sameer is da true lil champ and the real winner!!!👏 so let's all b happy for him!

Originally posted by: GUARDIAN ANGEL

OMG..... did he really sing Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen?? That is a classic Qawali.... I am real sorry I missed it!! I can just see Sameer singing it too!😕

😆no not that one... the HR song... ae meri meri zohra jabeen... furq de nigam mitaa jaa.. from Phir Hera Pheri!...

Originally posted by: 2smart4u

😆no not that one... the HR song... ae meri meri zohra jabeen... furq de nigam mitaa jaa.. from Phir Hera Pheri!...

lol!! he is rly good at HR songs! that's what made him my favorite, he sang that Naam Hai Tera Tera song in the finale with 5 others and then got selected....well im rly glad that those parents argued with the judges to b given a 2nd try or else Sameer wouldnt even be in the final 11!!

It is now nearly midnight and as such am visiting IF.
I could,nt believe my eyes when I read the posts by Biswita and Dazzling star of their reflections of Sameer.
I still have a lump in my throat and even as I was reading all the posts here, there were tears of joy and also sadness when I think of Sameer,
this cute, awesome 11 yr old with the magical voice who captured my heart snd brought so much happiness to me for 4 months with his songs anf performance.
I used to pray each week that he did not get eliminated, so I can continue to see him and hear him sing, and each week I used to watch the show with the anticipation that Sameer will deliver a good song, which he always did. He was an all rounder, can sing tapori songs, as well as serious songs, and dont even mention the HR songs, only he can sing them like that,
He had that special roshni in his face which showed that he was always happy and he showed no stress at any time. He was just a light hearted playful kid who had natural charisma , was always confident and took criticism and scoldings very well, I never saw him pouting or really upset, only once, but he recovered quickly. Even when he came in second runner up, he still smiled and was so graceful for an 11 yr old.
I am still sad that he did not win 😭 because he deserved that win, but not winning and still being popular is no mean task.
To me, he looked his best in Benares, it was the making of a star!!! ⭐️ ⭐️
He is well on his way to being a star, and the Sameer I saw speaking to the interviewer was a confident young man and not that little boy I saw for the first time in July. 👏 🤗 ❤️