'I started consuming drugs and chewing tobacco,' Indian Idol contestant Azmat Hussain on substance abuse post Sa Re Ga Ma Pa victory

Back in 2011, 10-years-old Azmat Hussain won the kids' singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Lil Champs. Back then Shah Rukh Khan had visited the Grand Finale to promote his then going to be released movie Ra. One and pictures of him lifting Azmat up with the trophy became the popular image on the internet. 8 years later, Hussain who lost his way due to bad company is making a comeback on TV with Indian Idol 11. Azmat in an interview with Bombay Times revealed how his voice started changing with age and he started hating it. "People around me started discouraging me from singing, saying that I couldn't sing well anymore and I started hating my voice," he said.

Although Azmat couldn't sing perfectly during the auditions, the show judges Neha Kakkar, Anu Malik and Vishal Dadlani still gave him a chance. Renarrating his struggle with depression he said, "After winning Sa Re Ga Ma I did a lot of shows. But after hitting puberty, my voice started changing. A video of mine singing at an event was uploaded on social media and I got extremely disheartened reading the comments that were posted on the video. People started calling me a bad singer. Those around me also started criticising my voice. Our voices change with age, but this is something not many understood. I went into depression and gave up singing." He further added, "There was a point in my life when I started hating my voice. At the same time, I got involved in bad company. I started consuming drugs and chewing tobacco. The constant chewing of tobacco affected my jaw movement. I still face a problem when I open or close my mouth."

Talking about his family Azmat said, "I don't come from a financially sound family. I had to take responsibility from an early age and look after my family. I've never been to any school and have always taken private tuition. After 2013, I didn't study at all."

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via Gr8 Pic