Indian journalist Snigdha Poonam’s book, Dreamers, examines the lives of young people in India who are trying to make a better life for themselves in an unforgiving economy and rigged system. One of these dreamers is Mohammad Azhar, described as “The Star” by Poonam. Mohammad Azhar is a young man from a Mulsim ghetto in India who dreams of becoming a model and achieving fame and glory. He enters local fashion shows and wins the Mr Jharkand beauty pageant. Despite this, he is unsuccessful in following an acting career as he lacks money, connections, and grooming. Such is the life of young South Asians whose families do not have extensive resources or wealth.
The world of local fashion shows and beauty pageants that Azhar enters appears glamorous but is very exploitative where aspiring contestants such as Azhar have to pay fees at every step. Poonam uses Tabrez Khan’s character to represent the ugly side of this business, an event organizer who makes money by organazing pageants and offering false promises to aspiring ambitious youngsters like Azhar. After unsuccessfully trying various small businesses to earn money, Azhar falls into debt and his middle-class family can no support his ambition. He sets off for Mumbai because he has always been dazzlied by the Mumbai film industry but again fails to get roles or contracts. Eventually, his expenses catch up to him and he is forced to give up his passion by planning to go the Gulf to earn some money.
Intertwined with Azhar’s story is the tale of Shan Ghosh, a small-town aspiring youth from Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh who mimics movie stars to earn fame and money. He has become locally famous for imitating and dressing up like Salman Khan, earning him the nickname “Junior Salman Khan”. In the 2014 documentary “Being Bhaijaan”, Ghosh was featured as a die-hard Salman Khan fan. Along with his friends, he emulated Salman’s movie characters in real life – including his looks, clothes, mannerisms and moral code. Ghosh started performing as his lookalike at local events in his town which became a money-making avenue for him. Two years later, he moved to Mumbai and continues imitating Salman Khan at various towns events. Ghosh and Azhar cross paths backstage where Ghosh advises him to try show business.
Like Azhar, Ghosh is a small-town actor who has been struggling to land an acting break in Mumbai. However, unlike Azhar, Ghosh is still hopeful and is nurturing his dream of becoming an actor. Additionally, he is also trying to work his way around Mumbai’s closed-off cut-throat acting industry by trying unconventional means like imitating Salman Khan, which is – at the very least – helping him earn cash. Ghosh understands that there are no good jobs or livelihoods available for someone like him without means and networks. The economy is very unforgiving to people like him and the system is rigged against him but he finding quirky ways to hack his way through the system.
Overall, the chapter portrayed the difficult and often exploitative path for ambitious small town youth chasing dreams of glamour against odds, some more hopeful than others. It lays out evidence that the circumstances facing young Indians without family money and connections are very harsh. However, this does not stop them from dreaming about a better future or an improved today.