True double for Trudeau
Doppelganger found on Afghan talent show
An Afghan wedding singer who shares an uncanny resemblance to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hopes his looks will propel him to fame.
Abdul Salam Maftoon had never heard of Trudeau until he entered an Afghan television talent show and a judge remarked on the likeness. The 29-year-old from the remote northeastern province of Badakhshan has since powered through early heats of the show, Afghan Star.
“People have forgotten my name and now they just call me Justin Trudeau,” Maftoon told Agence France-Presse.
“I didn’t know anything about Justin Trudeau until I saw the photos on social media.”
Muftoon has reached the final eight of the knock-out singing talent show, buoyed by his looks as well as his repertoire of romantic folk songs. He has two months until the contest reaches its finale. Afghan Star is one of the most popular shows in Afghanistan, reported the BBC. It premiered in 2005, four years after the fall of the Taliban.
Since then the extremist group has threatened the show, and called it un-Islamic.
One of the show’s judges, Afghan-Canadian musician Qais Ulfat, told the BBC that he first noticed the resemblance when training up the 12 contestants who made it through to the finals. “I noticed he looked a lot like my prime minister,” he said. “So I started giggling around with the host.” “Since then he’s gone viral. Everyone’s talking about him on social media.”
He added, “This guy could be the next Justin Bieber.” The likeness is considered so striking by some that he has been called Trudeau’s lost twin.
A win would boost his singing career, Maftoon hopes, and better provide for his wife and four children. “When I go back to my hometown people will definitely call me,” Maftoon said. He also hopes that one day he will meet Trudeau. “I want to meet him if he wants to because he is a global personality and I am a poor man from a remote part of Afghanistan,” he said. “We will see what happens.”