WEBVTT - Kaleidoscope recommends: Afghan Star! 0:00:13.360 --> 0:00:24.960 Afghanistar Episode one, light camera action. Welcome back to Afghanistan. 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:29.280 Please put your hands together for the host, the director, 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:30.560 the producer, the. 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:34.040 Man who built this show, Daoud Zidiki. 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:44.960 It's around eleven o'clock. I'm so thirsty, I'm so angry. 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:48.080 I'm so exhausted that I can't think about anything. 0:00:48.840 --> 0:00:52.120 It's September two thousand and five, just a few years 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:55.600 after the Taliban were driven out of Afghanistan, and Daoud 0:00:55.680 --> 0:01:00.560 Sidiki has barely slept in days. He's been pulling all 0:01:00.640 --> 0:01:03.360 nighters to get the first episode of a new TV 0:01:03.440 --> 0:01:08.640 show out. It's called Afghanistar, and nothing like it has 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:20.039 ever aired in Afghanistan before. But right now daoude is 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:24.000 so exhausted he's about to pass out. So instead of 0:01:24.040 --> 0:01:25.680 sticking around to watch the show. 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:30.400 Go live, I just drove to my house and went home, 0:01:30.480 --> 0:01:34.000 and my mom opened the door and I just went 0:01:34.040 --> 0:01:36.840 to the bit with my offsclots. 0:01:38.400 --> 0:01:41.720 Daoud collapses into a deep sleep and he doesn't wake 0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:43.160 until late the next morning. 0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:47.199 At that time, he didn't have the electricity at Cobble 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:49.280 that much like I didn't have a chance to listen 0:01:49.320 --> 0:01:50.720 to radio or TV or anything. 0:01:51.840 --> 0:01:54.040 But as soon as he's up. He's in a panic. 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:58.360 He has no idea how the show's been received. Are 0:01:58.400 --> 0:02:01.600 there people cheering in the street? M are calling for 0:02:01.680 --> 0:02:08.040 his head? He spent two sleepless months of his life 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:15.919 on this thing. Did anyone even watch? Also, he's late 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:22.400 for work, like really late. That would throw some clothes on, 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:24.919 jumps in his car, his hand shaking as he turns 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:28.760 on the radio, the chimes of the clock playing at 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:35.120 the top of the hour, and then the. 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:40.040 Headlines against afghanst Star. 0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:45.079 Afghanstar is one of the most shows in the country. 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:47.880 This is a new type of show and the people 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:51.760 are watching it, following it intensely, seeing only this time. 0:02:51.680 --> 0:03:01.200 Hours during generators long and starts. Oh my god, what happened? 0:03:06.720 --> 0:03:12.240 The answer to that question is going to define his life. 0:03:13.200 --> 0:03:15.520 It will take him on a journey from the back 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:19.400 rooms of a makeshift TV station in Cobble all the 0:03:19.440 --> 0:03:21.519 way across the globe. 0:03:22.280 --> 0:03:26.680 I was a celebrity of the country everywhere. I was 0:03:26.800 --> 0:03:28.400 like on the skies. 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:33.600 He will watch as his country is transformed. 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:35.200 Lights, mikes and cameras. 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:38.160 It's a different kind of battle in Afghanistan, one that 0:03:38.280 --> 0:03:45.200 has the whole nation watching. Osma because in the aftermath 0:03:45.320 --> 0:03:49.560 of the Taliban you still see rubble everywhere. There really 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:52.960 was an American idol for Afghanistan. 0:03:53.400 --> 0:03:57.000 We cannot let the darkness come over us again. We 0:03:57.160 --> 0:03:58.960 have to fight back with music. 0:04:03.840 --> 0:04:07.800 Afghan Star helped heal a nation torn apart by violence. 0:04:08.560 --> 0:04:13.360 Between all the explosions and all the disappointment, that was 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:18.360 light in the darkness. 0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:22.839 It allowed its people to fall in love with music 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:27.640 again and eventually had them running for their lives. 0:04:29.640 --> 0:04:33.320 And knew he had the gun, And I said to him, 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:36.240 if I get captured, please shoot me. 0:04:36.200 --> 0:04:49.839 In the head. 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:57.200 I'm John Legend from Kaleidoscope and iHeart podcasts. This is 0:04:57.400 --> 0:04:58.680 Afghan Star. 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:07.240 Then make a numba eat a go Damn Buddha, Let 0:05:07.360 --> 0:05:14.600 no more Ruda as maas John bad. 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:17.080 Name Mother. 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:33.680 Chapter one, Friday Night Lights. Every once in a while, 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:37.960 there's a moment when the world seems to halt, when 0:05:38.000 --> 0:05:41.560 streets fall quiet and people call one another to stop 0:05:41.720 --> 0:05:45.880 everything and turn on the television. They gather in apartments 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:51.839 and living rooms, huddle onto sofas and floors. They sit together, transfixed. 0:05:52.600 --> 0:06:04.880 You know these moments. The moon landing, a royal wedding, 0:06:06.360 --> 0:06:11.640 and Princess of weddings. These moments can be joyous and triumphant, 0:06:12.160 --> 0:06:17.680 like everyone watching as a hobble gymnast somehow sticks a landing, 0:06:26.440 --> 0:06:31.080 or unimaginable, like the day the towers fell and then 0:06:31.240 --> 0:06:32.240 it's flapped out. 0:06:32.240 --> 0:06:34.440 It looks like it's it at it's light. 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:36.280 Tangle into the world's race that I can see. 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:38.800 I can see flames now coming out the side. 0:06:38.560 --> 0:06:39.960 Of the building, and the smoke. 0:06:39.720 --> 0:06:47.960 Continuets to blow. These are moments of cultural importance, when 0:06:48.040 --> 0:06:54.799 everyone drops what they're doing to gather around a screen. Well. 0:06:55.240 --> 0:07:00.120 In Afghanistan, for about fifteen years, these moments have and 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:12.200 every Friday night it's March two thousand and six, New 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:17.000 Year's in Cobble. The city should be bustling, two lip festivals, 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:21.360 I've gotten polo tournaments, old men wearing colorful clothes walking 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:25.800 the streets, spitting poetry. People should be gathering in mosques 0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:31.600 to raise giant banners and cheer. But instead of it's 0:07:31.640 --> 0:07:35.920 a ghost town. The only signs of life are coming 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:40.560 from a few houses and apartments, lights flickering from the windows. 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:45.680 But look closer and you see why. In each of 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:49.560 these homes there's a tiny television perched in the corner 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:55.120 and huddled around its warm glow. Are people so many 0:07:55.440 --> 0:07:58.760 people packed in so tightly that you can barely see 0:07:58.760 --> 0:08:13.200 the ground. They're all there to watch Afghan Star. In 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:16.760 one of these apartments, on one such sofa is Omit Nazami. 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.920 He's relaxing now, but he's been fielding calls all day, 0:08:21.280 --> 0:08:22.920 trying to help his friends out. 0:08:23.520 --> 0:08:26.760 The people that they didn't have electricity. They keep calling, 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:28.800 do you have power? You have electricity? 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:29.120 Tonight? 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:31.080 Can you tell me who is eliminated. 0:08:31.280 --> 0:08:35.040 To watch Afghan Star? People across the nation have pulled 0:08:35.080 --> 0:08:37.480 their resources and shared their homes. 0:08:38.040 --> 0:08:40.520 You could see a family member that he is sitting 0:08:40.520 --> 0:08:42.400 in a corner of the room and he's so upset. 0:08:42.480 --> 0:08:45.320 She's so upset, and they say, come on, have food, 0:08:45.400 --> 0:08:48.360 have dinner. No, I'm not doing well tonight. My favorite 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:49.880 contestant just got eliminated. 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:55.720 He didn't deserve it. Everyone takes it seriously because this 0:08:55.840 --> 0:09:05.560 show means everything to them. So why was watching a 0:09:05.640 --> 0:09:09.600 talent show so important to these people? Well, before we 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:12.200 answer that question, maybe I should tell you a little 0:09:12.200 --> 0:09:15.480 bit about myself, because I know what you're thinking. Why 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:20.120 is John Legend hosting a show about Afghanistan. Well, there's 0:09:20.160 --> 0:09:23.280 the talent show connection. For sure. You might have seen 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:25.640 me on the Voice. You have so much passion that 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:29.800 you also have discipline. I would love for you to 0:09:29.960 --> 0:09:37.160 be on the team of the defending voice champion. That's me, 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:42.560 that's me, But this is about something deeper. Music is 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:48.120 my life. When I was growing up, I heard it 0:09:48.200 --> 0:09:51.520 at home in the car. At church every Sunday, we 0:09:51.559 --> 0:09:54.920 would sing in the gospel choir. My grandfather was the pastor, 0:09:55.200 --> 0:09:58.880 my mother was the choir director, my grandmother the church organist. 0:09:59.400 --> 0:10:06.880 It was my the whole world. After college, I dropped 0:10:06.920 --> 0:10:10.240 out of a solid career in management consulting because I 0:10:10.240 --> 0:10:16.520 couldn't stop thinking about music. And then the other day 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:19.520 I was reading the news and the story popped up. 0:10:20.920 --> 0:10:25.200 It had a crazy headline, the Taliban burned a pile 0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:32.520 of musical instruments because they're immoral. The photo showed four 0:10:32.600 --> 0:10:37.160 men standing around a fire, just a regular garbage fire. 0:10:38.760 --> 0:10:44.440 But then you look closer and you see strings, mangled guitars, 0:10:45.880 --> 0:10:52.600 the shelves of these beautiful harmoniums all charred up. I 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:55.400 thought it. He's from Afghanistan's Ministry for the Promotional Virtue 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:58.760 and prevention of vice, created a bonfire from a number 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:02.080 of seased instruments and allowed speaker in her province over 0:11:02.120 --> 0:11:10.520 the weekend. The idea that anyone would destroy all these 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:12.640 things that bring us so much. 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:20.160 Joy and life. It's heartbreaking, but that image, it's the 0:11:20.240 --> 0:11:26.200 key to understanding why Afghanistar was so important, why a 0:11:26.320 --> 0:11:28.920 TV show could get a nation. 0:11:29.080 --> 0:11:36.800 To come to a halt. Because when the Taliban were 0:11:36.840 --> 0:11:41.240 in power the first time in the nineties, they did 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:49.000 everything they could to rid the world of music. Clerics 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:51.920 would tear out the ERDs of cassettes and string them 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:58.120 up from trees. Morality police went around smashing radios and 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:03.960 boomboxes with hammers. They conducted brutal raids on houses and 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:12.880 terrified people into submission. Think about that for just one second. 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:19.000 Think about all the songs you listen to today on 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:25.840 your commute or bopping around the house. The music you 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:29.640 heard in your car or hummed to yourself at the 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:36.280 grocery store. Think about the soundtrack of your life, from 0:12:36.320 --> 0:12:40.800 the lullabies your mom sang, to road trips with friends, 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:49.160 piano lessons to first dances. Try to picture all. 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:50.720 Of that he raised. 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:06.760 Think about the absence of music. That's what happened in 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:22.599 Afghanistan on Silas. And the thing is, we tend to 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:26.360 take shows like The Voice and American Idol for granted, 0:13:26.960 --> 0:13:29.280 shows that you binge when you want to zone out. 0:13:32.440 --> 0:13:41.920 But here in Afghanistan, Afghanistan became a beacon, a reminder 0:13:42.040 --> 0:13:46.240 to a shell shocked nation that it had permission, the 0:13:46.360 --> 0:14:11.600 freedom really to sing again, to use their voices. Chapter 0:14:11.679 --> 0:14:17.440 two An impossible Dream. So back to Dairud, the guy 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:19.960 we met at the top of the show. Long before 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:23.160 he set out to make Afghan star. He was already 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:27.760 a badass when the Taliban banned music. He kept adding 0:14:27.760 --> 0:14:30.760 to his cassette collection, even though it could mean a 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:36.040 jail sentence or possibly death. At night, He'd traveled to 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:39.680 underground dance parties and hang out with Kabo's cultural dissidence, 0:14:39.880 --> 0:14:43.920 people who'd risk their lives for art. He watched Bollywood 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:47.160 movies and fell in love with the heroes, and so 0:14:47.800 --> 0:14:51.600 once the Taliban fell, he was determined he wanted to 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:56.320 be on screen, to be a star. And that's when 0:14:56.360 --> 0:15:01.400 he met someone who changed his life. I named Sad Mosenne. 0:15:01.880 --> 0:15:04.640 The walls are going to come to our rescue and 0:15:04.680 --> 0:15:08.680 perhaps it's time for us Afghans, ourselves in our own ways, 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:12.600 to find a way out for the country. Sad had 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:15.840 launched a radio station in Kabu and then a TV 0:15:16.000 --> 0:15:19.440 network that made news and soap operas and music shows, 0:15:20.160 --> 0:15:23.040 and it wasn't long before Daoud found his way to 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:25.440 Sad's office to ask for a job. 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:29.080 Oh my god, this is my place, that's where I 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:29.640 want to be. 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:32.760 The two quickly hit it off. 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:36.640 We would like having jokes and fun and chit chat. 0:15:37.080 --> 0:15:40.520 Give us this chance to be ourselves. 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:42.760 In a lot of ways. Sad story couldn't be more 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:46.960 different than Daoud's. He left Afghanistan in the seventies. We 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:49.800 took refuge in places like the US and Australia and 0:15:49.880 --> 0:15:53.600 Europe because we were forced out of our homeland. Then, 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:57.080 in October two thousand and one, after American troops invaded 0:15:57.120 --> 0:16:01.760 Afghanistan to topple the Taliban regime, So'd sinsed an opportunity. 0:16:02.280 --> 0:16:04.760 It feels like a calling to go back. In his 0:16:04.880 --> 0:16:08.120 mid thirties, at the time, Sad thinks this is it. 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:12.480 Afghanistan doesn't have a stock market, the media is dead. 0:16:13.000 --> 0:16:18.200 He can do something. Before long Sad wants to change 0:16:18.240 --> 0:16:22.240 the whole culture of Afghanistan, and he knows there's no 0:16:22.320 --> 0:16:26.720 better way than through the small screen. He's determined to 0:16:26.760 --> 0:16:30.400 make a splash. He's going to import soap operas and 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:35.240 put women news anchors on air. But most of all, 0:16:35.560 --> 0:16:38.480 he wants to try out a new kind of show, 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:43.520 one that has never been seen in Afghanistan before American 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:49.600 Idol but Afghan And as if that isn't hard enough, 0:16:49.760 --> 0:16:51.640 he wants to put it out in just a couple 0:16:51.640 --> 0:16:56.040 of months to beat any competition to the idea. The 0:16:56.120 --> 0:16:59.160 thing is, if this is going to work, Sad needs 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:02.480 someone he can try to handle it, someone who loves music, 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:05.600 someone who can pull favors and hustle to get this 0:17:05.640 --> 0:17:09.960 to air. And that's when he starts yelling for someone 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:24.399 to get him daoude Chapter three, just go make a 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:30.680 show to hear Daoud tell it. The conversation didn't take 0:17:30.720 --> 0:17:31.200 that long. 0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:35.879 And I remember exactly this sentence, like you said, I 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:40.119 want you to make this show happen. I don't know 0:17:40.160 --> 0:17:43.840 how go and make this show for us. That was 0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:47.960 a big expectation, Like I knew this is not a 0:17:48.200 --> 0:17:51.240 small show, this is something big. I didn't know how 0:17:51.280 --> 0:17:53.600 to start, what to do, what will happen. 0:17:54.240 --> 0:17:57.919 Sad is watching Daoud carefully waiting for an answer. 0:17:57.960 --> 0:18:02.600 And after five to ten seconds pause, I said, okay, 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:03.680 I will make. 0:18:03.520 --> 0:18:08.440 It, and then Sad hands him a DVD. 0:18:09.440 --> 0:18:14.600 He gave me Australian Idol DVDs and he told me 0:18:15.160 --> 0:18:18.040 go and watch this and try to make something like this. 0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:25.800 Okay, that's it. That's the only guidance. He had a 0:18:25.840 --> 0:18:30.000 few Australian Idol DVDs and now he has about sixty 0:18:30.080 --> 0:18:32.399 days to go make the thing. So he puts the 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:34.800 DVDs into the machine and hits play. 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:40.959 I'm just gonna find my note. 0:18:42.680 --> 0:18:44.600 What what sort of music do you like? To listen 0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:47.200 to it and lock everything. I leve all styles of music. 0:18:47.240 --> 0:18:51.560 App yes, mom, it's nothing kie. 0:18:54.240 --> 0:18:57.800 Immediately he starts scribbling down notes as fast as his 0:18:57.880 --> 0:18:59.119 hand will let him. 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:02.359 The stages, the lighting, and I don't have any clue 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:03.439 how it works. 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:07.679 He's never done anything like this before, never produced a 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:11.040 live show of any kind. He has so many things 0:19:11.080 --> 0:19:15.560 he has to figure out. Singers, stage lighting, He's trying 0:19:15.600 --> 0:19:19.440 to understand the format, the camera angles, the different components, 0:19:19.640 --> 0:19:22.560 and he's trying to work out what he should tackle. First. 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:27.000 Okay, people are coming, and then audition happens, and then 0:19:27.560 --> 0:19:28.440 come to judges. 0:19:31.119 --> 0:19:34.000 He thinks maybe if he starts with a few judges, 0:19:34.200 --> 0:19:35.320 he can build from there. 0:19:36.040 --> 0:19:36.520 That's good. 0:19:36.680 --> 0:19:38.840 I thought, that's one of the eazy things that they 0:19:38.880 --> 0:19:40.560 can do in one or two days. 0:19:42.280 --> 0:19:46.920 Except with Afghanistar, nothing's ever that easy. Back in two 0:19:46.960 --> 0:19:50.800 thousand and five, Afghanistan didn't have pop stars. There were 0:19:50.800 --> 0:19:54.000 no cool girl groups, no singers that shot to fame 0:19:54.080 --> 0:19:57.919 on social media. Basically, not many good candidates to be 0:19:57.960 --> 0:20:01.919 a judge on a reality show. But Daoud has an idea. 0:20:02.640 --> 0:20:06.879 The one thing people hire performers for is weddings, so 0:20:06.920 --> 0:20:09.760 he starts reaching out to random wedding singers. 0:20:10.160 --> 0:20:13.640 I introduced myself and said, okay, this is the idea 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:16.239 of we want to make a music talent show. I 0:20:16.320 --> 0:20:18.240 want you guys to be my judges. 0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:21.680 He promises to put them on air, make them famous, 0:20:21.840 --> 0:20:26.359 but all he's getting is blank stares. So Daoud explains 0:20:26.359 --> 0:20:30.960 it in more detail. He talks about the performances, the exposure, 0:20:31.280 --> 0:20:32.720 the spotlight. 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:35.639 And they said no, we can't come to this show. 0:20:36.200 --> 0:20:39.040 Daoude is taken aback. He can't get his words out 0:20:39.080 --> 0:20:39.760 fast enough. 0:20:40.000 --> 0:20:43.280 Why why this is a good opportunity. You guys can 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:46.280 gain more name for yourselves and that will help you 0:20:46.520 --> 0:20:48.600 to reach more people and people will know you. 0:20:49.040 --> 0:20:51.840 But these singers haven't seen a show like this and 0:20:51.880 --> 0:20:55.200 they don't think it will work. Nothing Daoud says can 0:20:55.280 --> 0:20:59.520 change any of their minds. He's completely deflated. This was 0:20:59.560 --> 0:21:04.800 supposed to be the easy part. And that's when he 0:21:04.840 --> 0:21:08.640 gets another call from Sad. Sad tells him not only 0:21:08.680 --> 0:21:11.800 do I need you to find male judges, I also 0:21:11.920 --> 0:21:13.560 want a female judge. 0:21:14.880 --> 0:21:18.359 When he said that, a break almost I said, what 0:21:18.600 --> 0:21:21.840 you are talking about, Sade? What's going on with you? 0:21:21.920 --> 0:21:27.240 Do you know you're an abon'stan. There was still people 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:35.400 supporters of Toliban, people with different opinions, more traditional, more religious. 0:21:36.240 --> 0:21:38.960 They were against these ideas. 0:21:40.840 --> 0:21:43.639 Daoud is losing it on the phone. He's thinking that 0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:48.440 Taliban have only just left blue jeans, women returning to schools, 0:21:48.600 --> 0:21:52.240 that stuff is just starting to come back. But putting 0:21:52.280 --> 0:21:56.600 a woman on TV in a position of power that 0:21:56.640 --> 0:22:01.320 feels like something this society isn't ready for yet. The 0:22:01.440 --> 0:22:05.800 task feels so insane. He can't stop himself from yelling 0:22:05.800 --> 0:22:06.800 into the phone. 0:22:06.920 --> 0:22:09.240 I can't find a man to be a judge of 0:22:09.320 --> 0:22:11.440 our true you are asking me to find a woman. 0:22:12.119 --> 0:22:12.880 Are you crazy? 0:22:15.000 --> 0:22:18.959 But sah, he's an optimist. He knows he's asking too 0:22:19.080 --> 0:22:24.200 much of Daoude, but he's also got a lead, an 0:22:24.240 --> 0:22:29.600 aspiring politician, and he says, just talk to her. 0:22:31.280 --> 0:22:36.560 She was like shocked, what are we talking about. I'm 0:22:36.600 --> 0:22:39.320 not a musician. I'm not a good choice for this. 0:22:40.680 --> 0:22:43.920 But as Daoude keeps talking to her, he sees an opening. 0:22:44.600 --> 0:22:49.120 I said, okay, I see you in a different interviews 0:22:49.840 --> 0:22:52.439 and says thing about the presence of women and the 0:22:52.480 --> 0:22:56.560 society in media and politics and all the things. If 0:22:56.600 --> 0:23:01.760 you are not participating, then tomorrow, don't blame me if 0:23:01.800 --> 0:23:06.119 I don't have any lady, any representative of women in 0:23:06.119 --> 0:23:06.520 my show. 0:23:07.840 --> 0:23:11.760 One guilt trip later and she's on board. That's one 0:23:11.840 --> 0:23:16.200 judge down. Then Daoud's colleague suggests an old singer from 0:23:16.240 --> 0:23:18.520 the villages, so Daoud gives him a call. 0:23:18.720 --> 0:23:20.840 He just cuted me in the middle and said, you 0:23:20.880 --> 0:23:23.360 guys are paying me. I said yes. He said, don't 0:23:23.359 --> 0:23:25.800 worry about don't explain to me. I will come whatever 0:23:25.840 --> 0:23:26.679 the show is. 0:23:27.480 --> 0:23:29.800 He's so in need of money that he doesn't even 0:23:29.880 --> 0:23:31.359 let Daoud finish his pitch. 0:23:31.520 --> 0:23:34.240 Okay, I have two judges, he. 0:23:34.320 --> 0:23:37.480 Just needs three to pull this off. So he approaches 0:23:37.600 --> 0:23:38.760 a local music shop. 0:23:38.800 --> 0:23:42.719 On it there was a guy he was okay singer 0:23:42.760 --> 0:23:46.200 and he had a very good music instrument shop. 0:23:46.840 --> 0:23:49.679 He also just released a song that was playing on TV, 0:23:49.880 --> 0:23:55.200 which for Daoude is good enough. Daoud consults his Australian 0:23:55.240 --> 0:24:00.560 Idol DVDs. He's officially checked off the first item find judges. 0:24:01.720 --> 0:24:11.040 Now it's time for the fun part. Chapter four, Meet 0:24:11.080 --> 0:24:17.040 the Stars. On audition day, Daoud is up early. He's 0:24:17.080 --> 0:24:18.679 heading into the city center. 0:24:18.920 --> 0:24:22.320 And rented one of the biggest rooms of this five 0:24:22.400 --> 0:24:24.679 star hotel and in the middle of Coobol. 0:24:24.720 --> 0:24:27.520 At that time, Daoud is thinking it's only been about 0:24:27.600 --> 0:24:30.680 three years since the Taliban were in power. He has 0:24:30.760 --> 0:24:33.400 no idea if even ten people will show up. 0:24:34.119 --> 0:24:39.760 I went there at eight forty five. When I get close, 0:24:40.119 --> 0:24:43.879 the streets are jammed. I thought, okay, Cobbol is a 0:24:43.880 --> 0:24:46.800 big city, maybe that's normal traffic, but this is an 0:24:46.880 --> 0:24:50.480 unusual jam. 0:24:50.640 --> 0:24:53.920 Daoud elbows his way through the crowds, thinking what is 0:24:54.000 --> 0:24:56.200 going on? He can't work it out. 0:24:56.440 --> 0:24:59.000 Oh my god, police is there? Security is there? 0:24:59.040 --> 0:24:59.760 This is a chaos. 0:25:00.720 --> 0:25:04.200 As Thoud gets closer to the hotel, he realizes that 0:25:04.400 --> 0:25:07.000 all of this chaos is his fault. 0:25:08.640 --> 0:25:12.119 And now I see a big crowd of people in 0:25:12.160 --> 0:25:13.040 front of the hotel. 0:25:13.760 --> 0:25:17.560 These people have heard his advertisements and they've come to audition. 0:25:18.320 --> 0:25:21.200 Plus they brought all their friends and family for support. 0:25:21.440 --> 0:25:24.360 Security. If the hotel is so angry on us, like, 0:25:24.720 --> 0:25:27.040 you guys are crazy? What's going on with you? What 0:25:27.080 --> 0:25:29.720 type of show is this? What you guys are doing? 0:25:30.320 --> 0:25:33.480 Hundreds of people have turned up and now they're all 0:25:33.520 --> 0:25:35.080 crammed into the hotel lobby. 0:25:35.520 --> 0:25:38.040 We had space for one hundred and twenty people. We 0:25:38.200 --> 0:25:42.160 got these people and we took them upstairs and started 0:25:42.160 --> 0:25:42.680 the audition. 0:25:43.520 --> 0:25:46.399 The judges are sitting side by side at a long table. 0:25:47.160 --> 0:25:49.679 On the wall behind them is a red banner with 0:25:49.720 --> 0:25:52.960 a few yellow stars scattered across it and images of 0:25:53.040 --> 0:25:56.719 men and women singing into microphones. This is about as 0:25:56.800 --> 0:25:59.840 close as he can get to Australian idol on his budget. 0:26:00.680 --> 0:26:03.960 One by one, people step into the room to audition. 0:26:04.720 --> 0:26:07.480 Some of them were dancing, some of them were singing 0:26:07.560 --> 0:26:10.080 like English songs. Some of them like Indian songs. 0:26:11.440 --> 0:26:12.520 There's just one problem. 0:26:12.880 --> 0:26:19.000 They thought they are very good singers, genuinely, but they 0:26:19.000 --> 0:26:20.040 were terrible singers. 0:26:21.040 --> 0:26:28.119 Got me Hevy lights On Gote heavy light us On, 0:26:39.680 --> 0:26:48.840 I why why His Australian Idol DVDs have taught him 0:26:49.119 --> 0:26:51.720 that terrible singing is a big part of what makes 0:26:51.800 --> 0:26:56.360 these shows great. Everyone knows the audience loves shower singers 0:26:56.400 --> 0:26:59.640 and karaoke hogs and people who think they're great because 0:26:59.640 --> 0:27:04.560 they're says they are. But as contestant after contestant walks 0:27:04.640 --> 0:27:08.120 up to the mic belting out awful sounds, that dude 0:27:08.359 --> 0:27:11.520 starts to get nervous. Where were the people you could 0:27:11.600 --> 0:27:12.399 actually root for? 0:27:20.520 --> 0:27:21.879 No no, no, no no no no no no no 0:27:22.280 --> 0:27:24.080 no no no no no no no no no no. 0:27:27.720 --> 0:27:30.760 But just when all seems lost, like the show might 0:27:30.880 --> 0:27:33.800 fail because no one here can hold a tune, a 0:27:33.920 --> 0:27:37.399 young guy steps in front of the judges. 0:27:37.840 --> 0:27:48.760 Zendiggiecausafer, Hey, you casufer. 0:27:48.119 --> 0:27:48.679 Koy some. 0:27:50.240 --> 0:28:02.040 Johnny Coy John Hey you can yes Sie the girl. 0:28:04.280 --> 0:28:07.760 And Daou thinks this is who I've been waiting for. 0:28:09.040 --> 0:28:09.720 Gooy so. 0:28:11.280 --> 0:28:18.879 Johnny goodie joy. 0:28:35.000 --> 0:28:38.280 Hey, it's John Legend If you've been listening, you already 0:28:38.400 --> 0:28:42.640 know that Afghanstar is a tale of resistance and hope. 0:28:43.160 --> 0:28:47.360 For fifteen years, Afghanstar was a beacon, but when the 0:28:47.480 --> 0:28:51.400 Taliban returned to power, they shut the show down along 0:28:51.480 --> 0:28:55.760 with so many Afghan rights. They banned music, education for 0:28:55.920 --> 0:28:59.240 girls and women, and they continue to clamp down on 0:28:59.520 --> 0:29:03.640 everyone freedoms. But there are ways to show your support. 0:29:04.120 --> 0:29:08.280 We've teamed up with AWA Studios and their incredible graphic 0:29:08.480 --> 0:29:12.440 artists to illustrate some of the most extraordinary moments in 0:29:12.600 --> 0:29:16.920 this podcast. There is a unique print for each episode, 0:29:17.360 --> 0:29:21.520 bringing to life powerful moments that are moving and inspiring, 0:29:22.200 --> 0:29:25.960 and there's an unforgettable print based on a painting from 0:29:26.040 --> 0:29:31.560 superstar artist Raza that represents the spirit of hope embodied 0:29:31.600 --> 0:29:35.240 by the show. Art and music have the power to 0:29:35.520 --> 0:29:39.720 uplift us all, and ordering a work for yourself or 0:29:39.840 --> 0:29:44.320 as a gift help support Afghans. With every purchase, we'll 0:29:44.360 --> 0:29:47.760 be donating to the Nore Initiative, a nonprofit working to 0:29:47.880 --> 0:29:53.520 ensure that every Afghan girl has access to education and opportunity. 0:29:55.160 --> 0:29:59.480 For more information on our collaboration with AWA, the artworks 0:29:59.520 --> 0:30:03.960 available to listeners and to learn more about the NORE Initiatives' 0:30:04.000 --> 0:30:09.040 efforts to educate, support independent media, and transform lives across 0:30:09.200 --> 0:30:12.600 the region. Head to the link in our show notes below, 0:30:17.080 --> 0:30:32.520 Chapter five. Shakib had. 0:30:37.280 --> 0:30:42.680