How Bigg Boss 20's Qazi Touqeer is having his rockstar moment at 40

Qazi Touqeer has returned to national television on Bigg Boss 20 with his old rockstar flair intact. The comeback has revived interest in his long journey from Fame Gurukul to friendship with Arijit Singh and years away from the mainstream.

Qazi Touqeer is having a rockstar moment inside the Bigg Boss 20 house, and he is making sure nobody misses it. More than two decades after Fame Gurukul turned him into a household name, the singer has returned to the mainstream with the same theatrical energy, flamboyant personality and confidence that first made him stand out. As he puts it, "I am a rockstar, baby."

At 41, Qazi is not walking into Bigg Boss 20 only as a former reality show winner. He is playing with his image, switching between personas, cracking jokes and creating moments inside the house. From his attempt to explain Gen Z dating terms to World Champion boxer and co-contestant Mary Kom, to his dramatic medicine episode, Qazi has quickly turned entertainment into his biggest strength. Bollywood superstar and the show's host Salman Khan took note too, calling him the house's "rockstar" during the first Weekend Ka Vaar.

Bigg Boss offers Qazi a very different stage from Fame Gurukul. There are no rehearsed performances here, and the audience gets to see the person behind the performer. Qazi appears to understand that well, and he has leaned fully into his larger-than-life personality inside the house.

He performs, reacts dramatically and does not mind looking funny if the moment demands it. His shifts in personality have kept viewers engaged. One such moment came when he explained terms such as "situationship" and "benching" to fellow contestant Mary Kom, with his confidence turning the exchange into a comic scene.

Then came the medicine episode. After a task, Qazi loudly called for his medicine, leaving his housemates worried. But once he reached the medical room, he told the doctor that nothing was actually wrong and that he was simply "playing the game." In many ways, that sums up his approach inside the house: entertain first, explain later.

The rockstar identity that stayed with him

Qazi's "rockstar" image goes back to 2005, when he and Ruprekha Banerjee won Fame Gurukul and Arijit Singh finished sixth. For years, his story was often reduced to a single line: that he had beaten Arijit Singh on a reality show. What happened after that, however, tells a more layered story.

Arijit went on to become one of India's biggest playback singers, while Qazi's career moved in a more unconventional direction. He released music, explored acting and appeared in the music video for Afghan Jalebi. Over time, though, his mainstream visibility faded. Even so, there was never a public rivalry between the two singers.

That absence of rivalry has become one of the most notable parts of Qazi's story. In a 2018 interview with Hindustan Times, he said he remained in touch with Arijit, listened to his songs during long drives and felt proud to see his former competitor become the playback singer he had always wanted to be.

Inside the Bigg Boss 20 house, Qazi again spoke about Arijit without even an iota of bitterness. He called him a genius and said he had never been jealous of his success. The warmth in that equation has continued on both sides.

In 2026, Qazi visited Arijit's hometown, Jiaganj, and documented their reunion. The two were seen riding a scooter, playing cricket and spending time together. They also worked on music. After Qazi entered Bigg Boss 20, Arijit publicly backed him, called him "apna rockstar" and said he would watch Bigg Boss for the first time because Qazi was in the house.

Qazi's comeback has also drawn Salman's attention. During the first Weekend Ka Vaar, Salman told the housemates, "Let me tell you guys, no matter how many stars exist in this house, there's only one rockstar amongst you all. Qazi Touqeer, the entire week you played quite well."

Salman did not stop at the label. He also spoke about the unpredictable nature of fame and the need to keep working through difficult phases. That added another dimension to Qazi's journey on the show. His story is not only about a contestant who found fame overnight in 2005, but also about someone who stayed connected to entertainment even after the spotlight shifted elsewhere.

Qazi's journey after Fame Gurukul did not follow the path many might have expected. His music releases did not have the same impact, his acting plans were interrupted by an injury and his visibility gradually dipped. Bigg Boss 20, though, has given him something different: a stage where his personality matters as much as his past.

He knows audiences remember the "rockstar", Fame Gurukul and Arijit Singh. Only this time, Qazi appears determined to leave them with another memory too: the entertainer who walked back into the spotlight and claimed it in his own style.