Everyday stories with a dash of Deccani

Shehbaaz Khan aka Noor Bhai gets talking about the character that has carved a place in every Hyderabadi’s heart

Hyderabad: With his soorma-lined eyes and constant paan-chewing habit, Noor Bhai is a name known to even kids in the city. By his own admission, Shehbaaz Khan, the man who plays Noor Bhai, didn’t think he would go on to become so popular with the Hyderabadis.

When he uploaded the first video in 2015, Shehbaaz was just testing the waters and was unsure whether people would like the character. As it caught up with all age groups and gained popularity, he decided to improvise.

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“I spent a lot of time observing people around me, their mannerisms, style of speaking and their general mindset. Noor Bhai is not based on one person but many people. In Hyderabad, you will find many people like him who believe that ‘mai jo bola woh sahi hai’, and they boast about their political links, which is all fake,” says Shehbaaz Khan, who has become a celebrity now.

The getup for the character was his idea, and it clicked with viewers immediately. In fact, 70 per cent of his fans are kids who often call out to him whenever he is out and about around Mehdipatnam.

The videos uploaded on the YouTube channel — Shehbaaz Khan Official — are all peppered with Deccani, Urdu words and come laced with social messages. But it is the slapstick humour and realistic storylines that have actually caught the imagination of public who leave thousands of comments on his videos.

“The language we used is pretty common, and the situations we show can happen in any family. We get so many people telling us — ‘bhai, yeh toh mere ghar main hua, aisa mere dost ke saath hua’. The writing really comes from our own experiences. We try to show what happens in a real household, ‘agar koi ladka kaam pe nahi jaa raha, toh uske parents usko kaise baat karte hain…’ I think that is what makes the channel so popular and relatable,” adds the 29-year-old.

Now working with an ever-growing team under Shehbaaz Khan Entertainment, the YouTuber admits they didn’t expect the channel to grow up so quickly.

“When people started recognising me wherever I went, I realised our impact. So when I write scripts, I make it a point to include a social message. A recent video — Noor Bhai ki Purani Aashiqui — had people commenting that even they used to behave the same way as Noor, everyone had a similar story to share,” states Shehbaaz Khan.

From shooting with a borrowed camera and a makeshift setup, the YouTuber’s life has turned around in a big way. Now able to afford a plush office in Banjara Hills, he also manages a team that gathers to discuss concepts and storylines before starting rehearsals and then production.

They try to upload frequently so Shehbaaz is always busy with two-three scripts at a time. “The dialogues and the script are written entirely by me. Now, we have a full-time editor and writer also; earlier we used to do all of that on our own,” adds Shehbaaz Khan.

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