It is rightly said, a true leader is someone who is always there for you and guides you through every difficulty. That’s exactly who our dear friend Samir Bangara was. Co-Founder and CEO of Qyuki Digital, Samir was hardworking, enthusiastic and a kind man who was loved by all. He always believed in positivity, new opportunities and saw the brighter side of everything. The world recently lost a true gem like him in an unfortunate incident last month but we strongly believe that a true leader is never gone, he lives through his work eternally! 15th July marked Samir Bangara’s birthday, which Qyuki celebrated as their Founder’s Day to honour his memory. Find out everything about the celebration right here…
About Samir Bangara
Former Managing Director, Digital at DisneyUTV, Samir had more than 16 years of experience in the media and technology space. Before the acquisition by Disney, Samir was the Chief Operating Officer of Indiagames, which he was associated with in different roles since 1999. He has also been listed amongst the top 15 angel investors in India. Its was only later that he saw so much potential in new budding creators and founded Qyuki Digital along with AR Rahman and Shekhar Kapoor. In his career, he has mentored more than 300 artists. He also co-founded the widely popular Dharavi Dream Project.
Founder’s Day Celebration
The Founder’s Day celebration took place on Qyuki Digital’s Facebook handle on 15th of July, 2:30 PM onwards. Various creators, artists, musicians, actors and other peers came together to send in their heartfelt tribute to the loved Samir Bangara. Multiple artists also shared videos and posts in honour of him on digital platforms like Instagram…
Tributes and performances
Ambili Menon and Audrey D’Silva hosted the celebration Facebook, wherein numerous big celebrities like Ravi Dubey, Armaan Malik, Malini Agarwal, Roshan Abbas, Shaan, Vishal Dadlani, Team07, Teen Tigada, Devraj Sanyal, Salim Merchant, Vinit Thakkar, Mr. Faisu, Jannat, Guneet Monga, Admiral Suresh Bangara, Ritu Agarwal, Jeffrey Iqbal, Raj Nayak, Faisal Khan, Suresh (King’s United) and many more gave their heartfelt tribute and spoke about how Samir created a vast impact on their lives and helped them in their journey.
Multiple talented artists and bands like SANAM, Gajendra Verma, Antara Nandy, Amrita Nayak, Tushar Lall, Nikhil Shetty, Ramji Gulati, Abha Hanjura, Dhruv kent and a few more performed in the memory of Samir too. Musician Clinton Cerejo performed the song ‘Anti-Gravity‘ as it was one of Samir’s favourite numbers, Vicky Patel showed his love through soulful dance performance and popular band Raaga Trippin performed Samir’s favourite song ‘In the jungle‘ by Beach Boys. Moments like these, in the celebration that took place yesterday really melted our hearts.
Here’s what Faye D’Souza had to say,
It’s odd to be called an artist or even be included among artists, I am a journalist and communicating facts is not art. It is at best a skill and I thought I’d communicate some facts to you. A few months ago, just as the lockdown has begun, I was on the verge of signing a big brand deal, this would have been the first big deal that In would have signed as an independent journalist. It was a big deal for me, it would have a confirmation that breaking out an being an independent journalist was possible. So this deal in a lockdown would have home-delivered reassurance that I was on the right track, but just before it got confirmed, this deal fell through. I was deeply disappointed and was questioning everything. I sent a message to a friend very late at night, It was a whiny message and I got an answer the next morning. This is what it said “we win some we lose some, we are in this together” It was just a reality check and an assurance that I was not alone. In the following weeks, work followed, we got new deals and we became confident and I realized that all I needed to do was keep going. It was good advice from a good friend, that friend was Samir Bangara, and he was just a good friend, he was my best friend. In the last month since he left us I have struggled in a way that I perhaps never struggled before. Spent hours starting at an empty wall or a screen not really being productive, waiting for inspiration. I struggled with that loss and in the lack of justice with what happened. If we were in this together then why I am alone? How are we supposed to carry on? I keep asking myself over and over again, what would Samir have said or done in this situation. Friends, colleagues, mentees looking for the same thing, almost the clerical parenting that he would have offered. hat would Samir have said? In those conversations, I realized the fixed deposits of advice he had left for us. With each of these people was a part of the answer to the question, What would Samir have said? and the answers were brilliant ‘Start at the beginning’ ‘Done is better than perfect’ ‘don’t let your emotions get the better of you’ ‘focus on the north star’. His advice planted on this community is now growing into a forest of strong people. We are not alone, we have each other. Life doesn’t give you room to sit and question, remember two things, first thing, we win some and we will lose some, the second thing to remember is that we are in this together. There is an unofficial family of people who remember him and his advice. Take the singles, tackle the small problems first, keep fighting!
Heres what A.R Rahman has to say about Samir,
He is not there physically with us but the things which he did, the amount of love, admiration and kindness he gave to the whole team will always be memorable and will stay with us so I want the whole team of Qyuki and friends to celebrate and remember him.
The celebration along with heartfelt tributes really touched our hearts. We wish Samir was here with us today but a true leader like him will always be known through his work and his words. The community of creators he has mentored will continue his legacy and surely make him proud! Take a look at the celebration on Qyuki’s Facebook page if you haven’t yet!
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