Hyderabad: Making their presence felt with a bang

Hyderabad: The video starts with typical pakka Hyderabadi language and ends up with a great social message, showcasing different situations and weaving a drama about family, friends, neighbours and featuring various areas of Deccan Hyderabad.

All this and many more are gaining the attention on the social media such as YouTube. Channel Shehbaaz Khan has already reached 1 million subscriber base in a very short period and it is the first channel to receive Golden Button from YouTube among Hyderabad YouTubers.

According to Shehbaaz Khan, the concept of making videos with a hilarious note using the Deccani language, imbued with a social message, is inspired by actor Kader Khan. A mimicry artist, Khan realised mimicry would not survive for long and earn him name and fame. So he decided to create a character 'Noor Bhai' which uses pure Deccani with its typical style and accent. He roped in his friends to create drama.

The character 'Noor Bhai' is becoming famous by the day. It is particularly alluring children and elders alike with a social message.

Khan said he can mimic in 80 different voices including actors including Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Amir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Hritik Roshan, Amrish Puri, Kader Khan. He is the only artist who can take a voice of Kader Khan with expressions and imitate with politicians such as Narendra Modi, Asaduddin and Akbaruddin Owaisi etc.

Hailing from middle-class and an intermediate dropout, he took up jobs as electrician contractor for some time. He started making videos as a mimicry artist and posted them on Facebook. After garnering positive reviews, he ventured to make videos and posted on YouTube. The first video posted on October 11, 2016. Hyderabadi Callcenter, Shaadi ki Daryafi, Passport enquiry and several such videos have drawn a great response, clocking millions of views.

Soon, Khan started one more channel, 'Kiraak Hyderabadiz,' managed by Silly Monks, and started making videos using Deccani language to target the young generation. This channels got over one million subscribers. He said that the Shehbaaz Khan Channel had a total of 164 videos and Kiraak Hyderabadiz posted a total of 187 videos and none of the videos has vulgarity, offence, double meaning dialogues etc. It's a pure family entertainment with social message, he asserts.

After they became famous, Shehbaaz Khan and Imran Khan, his friend and the second lead character, got a chance to share a stage with Bollywood actor and comedian Sunil Grover in Qatar in June 2019. They were also invited by actor Arbaz Khan to a concert in Aurangabad, where they met legends like Johnny Lever, Shakti Kapoor and other actors, said Imran Khan.

Both Khans make videos on their own. Shehbaaz writes story, dialogues, and wields mega phone etc. No story or dialogue writers or actors were hired for any purpose – everything was done on their own. His crew of actors includes Imran Khan, Atif Khan, Amir Bin Sayeed, Hyder Khan, Salman Sheik, Lateef Prince, Hyderabadi Shahrukh, Shurti Kothari, Farha Khan, Sufi Khan and Sameera Khan. Most are childhood friends.

None of the team is born with a silver spoon. They struggled to come up and won wide appreciation. Shehbaaz is fond of stage performances. Initially, he and Imran performed at functions and weddings in the area on their own, without any invitation. Their impromptu acts of mimicry and comedy gradually brought fame, and that's when they ventured to seize the social media, too, says Shehbaaz Khan.

When they started making videos they use to shoot videos with the friends phone who had a good camera. None of the team members asked or demanded for their profit in revenue.

While shooting, the area residents including the commuters also co-operate and appreciate our work, added Imran. Whatever they are now is by the blessings and support of family, area residents, viewers etc and thanked them all, he added.