Great works never go unnoticed. It eventually comes to light, whether now or later. One such year was 2022, when Jay-Ho! The Jay Kumar Show guests’ altruistic efforts, tribulations, and triumphs were uncovered on the show. Here are some tales from the Jay-Ho Show that have inspired us greatly.
Sonu Sood: The Messiah of Masses
As 2022 comes to an end, Jay-Ho! The Jay Kumar Show revisits the positive stories of the year. And what better way to celebrate than by saluting the deeds and words of the common man’s Messiah, Sonu Sood- actor, humanitarian, and hero. This reel life villain is a real life hero with his humanitarianism and philanthropy.
Sonu Sood has starred in many blockbuster movies that have defined the era of 90s and received accolades for his skilful portrayal of the antagonist Chedi Singh in the 2010 Salman Khan-starrer Dabangg. He also ventured into production, launching his production house Shakti Sagar Productions and named after his father. Though Sonu Sood received prominence for his role in helping people during the corona pandemic, he has always been involved in social causes. He has supported underprivileged people through various initiatives and has been at the forefront in the fight against drug addiction in his home state of Punjab. In 2016, he launched the Saroj initiative – named after his mother – to help acid attack survivors. For the engineer-turned-actor, these life-lessons and values were taught to him by his late parents, which have come back to him in the form of success and fame among people. While envy and slander undoubtedly comes to those who strive to make a difference, the biggest proof of Sonu Sood’s popularity comes from the fact that many people now name their child after him as an auspicious sign. This is a far cry from his early days of struggle when people had told him to change his name but he stuck by his own name. Undoubtedly, Sonu’s own journey to make a difference has only just begun. “The journey is on but there’s still miles to go,” he says. We too can learn from him and aspire to be more generous and give this New Year and to believe in yourself no matter what.
Bhajan Samraat: Anup Jalota
The Bhajan Samraat of India, Anup Jalota is a household name for all of us. Known for his immortal song ‘Shirdi Ke Sai Baba’, Anup started his career with All India Radio and since then has been going from strength to strength. Music is in his lineage with his father Purushottam Das Jalota being a classically trained singer and was Anup’s first mentor. Even during his college, Anup wanted to be a singer and like all aspirants, he made his way to Mumbai where he spent time struggling for a break. And after sometime he got the break as a chorus singer with AIR where he would be accompanied by several instrumentalists ranging from guitar to sarangi and dholak. After his big success with Shirdi Ke Sai Baba, he never looked back belting out hit bhajans such as Aisi Lagi Lagan, Main Nahi Makhan Khayo, Rang De Chunariya, Jag Mein Sundar Hain Do Naam, and Chadariya Jhini Re Jhini.
For his contributions to Indian music, Anup Jalota was awarded the Padma Shri. In 2020, he received yet more recognition for his work when he won the Akademi Puraskar for the music category. Apart from these signal honors, he was also among the 128 artists who have bagged the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards for 2019, 2020, 2021.
Shaan: The icon of 90s pop music
We all know Shaan, the man who defined pop music in the 90s and whose voice is behind iconic Hindi songs we still hum today. From Tanha Dil to Chaand Sifarish, Shantanu Mukherjee aka Shaan is known for his remarkable discography. But before winning recognition in the music industry, Shaan struggled to establish himself. He started off as a playback vocalist for the movie Parinda. After that, he accompanied his younger sister in singing just one line of the song “Kitni Hai Pyari Pyari.” at the tender age of 17.
Despite such accomplishments at a young age, he struggled to gain attention as a singer. Thus, to support himself and continue working on his craft, he began singing jingles for commercials, subsequently followed by singing cover versions and remixes. Later, Shaan and his sister joined Magnasound and recorded a number of hit albums, including Naujawan and Q-Funk. Today, Shaan is a top-tier singer in Bollywood. His voice could be heard in every other movie. In addition to singing, he has gained fame as an Indian Pop & Playback singer, actor and television presenter.
