Karachi-based rickshaw driver Qasim Ali is taking the internet by storm after his video of singing Mehdi Hassan’s famous ghazal went viral on social media.
Prominent sports journalist Faizan Lakhani recorded his video of singing a ghazal in his melodious voice while sitting in his rickshaw and uploaded it on Twitter.
This auto rickshaw driver in Karachi is an amazing talent, spotted him singing Mehdi Hassan’s songs at a stop. Qasim Ali says he wanted to be a classical singer but poverty shattered his dreams and he’s forced to drive rickshaw to earn his bread and butter. pic.twitter.com/6U1vdZn13d
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) November 2, 2019
Faizan Lakhani, while sharing the video, had written his heart-breaking story in the caption of the video. As mentioned in the caption, Qasim Ali briefed that lack of financial resourced did not let him pursue his dream of becoming a classical singer.
“This auto-rickshaw driver in Karachi is an amazing talent, spotted him singing Mehdi Hassan’s songs at a stop. Qasim Ali says he wanted to be a classical singer but poverty shattered his dreams and he’s forced to drive rickshaw to earn his bread and butter,” read the caption of the video.
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The video soon went viral as people could not stop praising him. He even caught the attention of acclaimed actress Mehwish Hayat on Twitter. Mehwish Hayat who wrote “What a beautiful voice !”
Following his social media fame, he also appeared on a morning show on Geo News.
Qasim Ali is not the first stance of commoners rising to fame through social media.
What a beautiful voice !
— Mehwish Hayat TI (@MehwishHayat) November 3, 2019
Some of the instances include Arshad Khan, a tea seller from Islamabad, who got attention on social media after Jiah Ali, a photographer from Islamabad, captured some perfect shots of him and in a few days, his snaps were all over the internet. The audience just fell in love with this chai wala who was later able to bag a lot of acting/modeling opportunities in showbiz.
Then, a restaurant waiter from Rawalpindi, Rozi Khan, who had never heard of famous series ‘Game of Thrones‘ came out to be a doppelganger of Tyrion Lannister, one of the characters in the English series.
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Another amateur, a painter Muhammad Arif from Karachi, his video of singing a song while painting a house went viral on social media. Turning to fame overnight, he even performed along with Aima Baig at Independence concert. Arif has kick-started his singing career and has recently released his single on YouTube.