Khanzaadi also known as Firoza Khan , the 27 year old girl from Assam who came to mumbai with a runaway dream. I came from a very conservative family my father is from Afghanistan and my mother is Indian. This blend often makes people think I am not Indian but I’m so proud and honored to be Indian.
I barely finished school and had no education or training. I taught myself to read and write and then started to write and compose music to forget my struggles at home. I could not be ambitious with my dreams at home so I decided to run away to mumbai.
Like many girls I came with a dream to succeed and become something but much to my dismay competition was tough and there are so many talented people in our country. By the age if three or four stars are being made. I really thought I was too late after being turned away so much. I started to self harm and have the scars until this day to remind me of these times.
I did MTV Hustle and it was a dream to perform for badshah but I didn’t have the finances or team to further my career or my marketing after the show. There are so many people who have so much talent but are stuck as nobody will invest or give them a break.
One day i was sitting in taj lands end waiting for yet another label and I saw this energetic and dynamic woman sitting infront of me, then I noticed also abdu rozik was also next to her. I had to approach them. abdu was comfortably calling her his apa..
She was an Emirati from Dubai and welcomed me to sit and I started to talk about my journey. She noticed the scars on my arms and asked me what had happened. I started to tell her about my story and even sang for her a song I was working on jwala muki. This song is a forbidden story line of my life and I cannot wait for everyone to hear it especially those who did not give me a chance.
I will never forget that day as since then I have never felt so motivated. I now write songs every second day and i wake up in the middle of the night inspired with such a will to succeed and to change my life.
Now I have joined the UAE talent management firm ifcm along side international stars abdu rozik and jad hadid and have never imagined that I would ever get a passport or even travel in my life. Let alone get all these opportunities as the first proud Indian to join ifcm and not worry about where my next meal would come from or how I’d pay my next auto.
I want to tell everyone out there, that you should never give up . Everyday you will see different people and hear different stories but there will always be a genuine person out there who will invest their time and money if they believe in you. Telling me that my scars are my real beauty was an eye opener from another woman and encouraged me now to take responsibility to inspire others who feel lost, disheartened or drowning.
I would love one day soon once im a little more established to visit villages, slums, shelters places that i am all too familiar with myself and tell my story to inspire and make people understand that we struggle to learn and we get these lines and wrinkles and scars to grow, but the air we breath and also share with an infinity of people around the world is a huge bubble of hope and love that just needs to be found by the right person.
