Move Over Sanjaya, There Goes Kashif

I vaguely remember hearing commercials for the new television series created by the makers of American Idol where people from all over the nation can audition with any sort of talent. Though most of the acts on the show are satirical, there is a small minority of serious talent featured on the show. It was not until towards the end of the series when I was surfing online and I saw that one of our own was an aspiring Bollywood star that made it all the way to the semi-finals. Kashif Memon mesmerized judges Sharon Ozbourne, David Hasselhoff and some celebrity hater who I honestly had no idea who he was, but apparently he thought Kashif was a terrible dancer, at least by his standards. What does he know?

Kashif somewhat took the nation by storm too. Even Jerry Springer had some positive things to say about his performances. Though Kashif, of Skokie, Illinois, experienced a small version of the overnight fame that Sanjaya underwent, there were some undeniable differences between the two overnight successes. Since I read about Kashif at the point that he was off the show, I had to do some research on the Internet to find his dope Bollywood moves. I hate searching for stuff like that online, because I am bound to find something that angers me. Usually the comments are from people outside our culture. However this time, it appeared that it was our own people that aggravated me. A message board war between Hindus and Muslims seemed to erupt on some forums. It is sad that a few ignorant people from our culture could potentially impact the perception of Westerners trying to learn about our culture. Some of the comments I read were from user names that sounded Indian saying mean things about how Kashif sucked. And in response, there were comments about Paki-pride and how we are dumb Indians that are hating because we can’t dance like Kashif.

It becomes really sad when you talk to Americans that barely realize that India and Pakistan are two different countries. I currently live in a small farm-state city filled with people who barely leave the state, and it is hard enough getting some people to understand that India is a country on the other side of the world and that I do not belong to a tribe and despite the fact that I am 100% Indian, I am not eligible for a check from the government. Some American people get really confused, and have no overall clue of how the world is constructed.

I wish all of these Indian people would keep their negative comments to themselves. If they really do not like what they see, get out there and do it better and let your actions speak your mind. But putting hurtful comments out there about how Kashif talks (which is the exact same way many of our mothers and fathers and uncles and aunties talk) is just plain ignorant and makes you look totally stupid. Furthermore, your ignorance and stupidity makes me feel embarrassed for being Indian. In the clip that showed Kashif talking about what he wanted to do, he said “I want to do the dancing.” Many of us attacked him for using improper English. So what? I know about 25 other Indians that would have said the exact same thing.

It was very seldom that comments were posted on You Tube and other forums that reflected how well Kashif did, or how he had the courage to go out there and dance in a manner that was going to be foreign to the majority of the audience. I would like to say that I thought that Kashif did an awesome job. It was the coolest thing seeing this 4-minute Bollywood rendition on national television performed by someone who was practically my next door neighbor. Thank you Kashif, for having the courage to go out there and tell America about your dream and exposing the mass media to a piece of our culture. I hope that we do see you in Bollywood films someday. Don’t take any of the negative comments personally, and don’t think that the comments on the Internet reflect what all Indians think about you. You have a lot of supporters out there, so as they say, haters, keep hating, and players, play on!