Boogie Woogie India

.

“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” ~ Arthur Ashe

The above quote goes perfect for the person who is being celebrated today – yes, our own Naved Jaffery.

When I was a kid, I heard many stories of heroism, and also of perfect angels. As I started to grow, it became my desire to see one in my real life. But then I had started to wonder if they really existed. At this point of time I was told one could find heroes in movies and I started to watch movies in search of real heroes. But then when I came out from the movie theatre I realized it was only a movie, something that was scripted, and something that the actor got paid for acting. I said to myself, that is not the real hero that I am searching for and hence my search continued. My next stop was at an adventure place as I heard there are many daredevils who jump off buildings and other stuff. I thought maybe they are the true heroes. As I went inside and watch them do their stuff, I realized it was only a sport and nothing else. It was a hobby, a craze, an adventure sport and had nothing to do with real heroism. And hence I continued with my search. Then I thought to myself that it would be easy to find a hero if I come across one with heavy muscles. So in midst of my search, I started searching gyms and playgrounds rigorously and came across plenty to dozen and yet again realized they were not true heroes. There was lot that was missing. To me it looked like they were only eating and exercising right to build their own body and had nothing to do with heroism. I said to myself, heroism has to be something else, it can’t be found this easily and so I went to a baba and asked him for the answers. To my surprise he told me, “True heroes aren’t daredevils who jump off buildings. They are not even muscled athletes who play sports for astronomical salaries. But they are people who take time from their lives to help others, never caring whether they reap benefit or glory from their actions. They are people who really care, who live by standards and guide and help the needy. They are the ones who never show their power. Their actions speak a million words in silence”. I then asked the baba, where I can find one as I am eager to see one such hero. He told me, when we come across a true hero, we will feel them right in our heart.”

This description was good enough and now my enthusiasm increased more. But as I searched, the results went all in vain. And then I started to continue my studies abroad, my search was halted with life’s diversions. But in few years I came across a very dear friend of mine called “Ajay Babji” in a super market. I and Ajay were volunteers at an organization. Ajay was visiting his family for a short period as his brother was getting married in US. Since we met after a long time, I wanted to find out what Ajay was doing back home. To my surprise he told me, he runs a non profit organization in remote villages in Andhra Pradesh that were for the betterment of the poor and the needy. He was not only helping them get education but also was trying his best to see that their dreams were achieved to at least a decent level. I was thoroughly surprised and felt very proud of him. When I was telling him how proud I was, he interrupted me and said the real credit goes to Naved Jafri and he believes Naved was the reason for the turning point in his life. I did not know who Naved Jafri was and I was eager to know how he helped my friend in making a brilliant decision in his life. And at this point the introduction to the real hero that I was searching for a long time came into effect.

I was told that during one of the Boogie Woogie auditions, his sister had not got selected but the brother that he was, he consoled his sister but broke down himself. Looking at this Naved who was then surrounded by dozen of people, saw and walked towards him and consoled him. When Ajay wanted to touch his feet, he stopped him and spoke words of wisdom that taught Ajay a new lesson of life. Watching the Boogie Woogie guys and their humility, Ajay was so inspired that he silently started working for a voluntary organization to spread education in remote villages. He proudly called Naved and the Boogie Woogie guys – Ravi and Javed as his mentors and motivators. He said his organization also was recognized by the local government for the work that they did. Unfortunately Ajay Babji is no longer in this world due to a tragic road accident but what ever short life that he lived, he sure lived it right. I am extremely proud of Ajay and also proud of his silent mentor.

That was the time for me to begin my search as the description was clear enough and hence I started searching for Naved the real hero. I did not had any Indian Television channels in my apartment but when I moved to Philadelphia a year later in 2003, I was happy to subscribe to Sony channel to see this great guy who worked magic in my friends life. Naved was the reason I started watching Boogie Woogie and got hooked on. I started following it religiously and as time went on I became a die hard fan and an admirer for many reasons. And I am proud of it!

To my knowledge, Naved Jafri is a perfect youth icon. He has been bringing a big change in many youth and in society. He is an awesome role model anyone could ever ask for. There are many Ajay’s in India (unsung heroes) who got inspired by him and Ravi and Javed”. They probably are not even aware of their own magic or power that they have on people. They reach out to real India and their reaching touches our heart. Their actions speak louder then words. They sure are modest, simple, humble and great guys. There are more real stories of how and what impact they have on present youth and what respect they get from families all over.

Having standards on a TV show that say “don’t wear such and such clothes, no revealing, wear proper stockings, no vulgar songs, and no vulgar expressions” is a tough job. In present days, any revealing or any indecent behavior is good enough to fetch brilliant TRP. One small incident, and you will find the news all over Internet and people are waiting to catch that show. But in Sony’s Boogie Woogie, you don’t find any such incidences or behaviors. What you may find is a long 27 point rules and regulations. First time when I glanced at the lengthy multiple pages rules, I thought they are nuts but then when I read each and every point, I realized all those rules were perfect and it will help as a great guiding tool for the participants. It is great to be disciplined. It is this same discipline that will demarcate the good from the bad and will leave a respectful image in future and for years to come.

Naved is the master mind behind the concept of Boogie Woogie. He and Ravi are childhood friends. When Ravi approached Naved to start a television show, Naved came up with the idea of Boogie Woogie and they both with the help of Javed got into Sony. I read somewhere that Sony had given them Rs. 12,000/- to start the show. When they started working on their show they never realized that it would create history one day or it could turn out to be super hit. But as time went on, the show became more and more popular and became crave of the each and every town. Yet the humility and humbleness remained where it was before. His attitude never changed. There may be many dance shows today but what Boogie Woogie is, none can ever come close to that level. Boogie Woogie stands class apart in its quality search for talent. Boogie Woogie is the home product of R & N Productions that stands for Ravi and Naved Productions. It is one production house that makes many feel proud to work for. It is one production house that outputs a product that is respectable. Maybe it is possible due to the kind of friendship that both Ravi and Naved shares. They are well aware of each others mood as they are friends for a long time and their friendship only strengthened with time. It is a friendship that will talk about as a good example. When it comes to Naved, it is possible for one to skip talking about anyone else but it is impossible not talk about Ravi. These two names have become synonyms as it is impossible to take one name and leave the other. God bless their friendship!

Naved is a perfect son, brother and a great friend. He is also an adorable uncle and a fun guy to be with. He has no hang ups and if you approach him, he reciprocates back with respect and care. He makes you feel like you are friends with him for long. He is easy to talk to about anything under the sun and that is why you find many - right from kids to grown ups, joke or talk with him easily on the show or off the sets.

True heroes are rare to find but we are lucky that we found them right at Boogie Woogie sets. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change that you want to see in the world” and that is what we see in Naved. He is the change and who works continuously for the betterment of the society and very humbly. He may not realize what people feel for him as he jokes about himself as just somebody but the fact remains that for many people he might be their world – a real super hero!!

On behalf of BoogieWoogieIndia.Com ……..

Happy Birthday Naved! May God bless you always and shower you with his choicest blessings. May you live a million healthy years and continue to spread your niceness among everyone always. May your life be filled with plenty of joys, cheers, happiness, good health, love and tons of laughter Amen!

Good people like you deserve to live a long life and hence this song ………