"We were forced to advertise gambling." Members of the "Benom" group talk about their biggest mistake and keeping their personal lives a secret

“We were forced to advertise gambling.” Members of the group “Benom” talk about their biggest mistake and keeping their personal lives secret

Sarvar Azimov and Komil Fozilov, members of the group “Benom,” who caught the attention of fans with hundreds of songs such as “Yog‘adi yomg‘ir,” “So‘ngi bor,” “Adashdimmi,” “Eslamading,” and “Yoningdaman,” gave an interview to the “Ayol qalbi” project. During the conversation, they spoke about their arguments, their families, and the biggest mistake they have made to date.

After achieving fame, some musical groups disband, citing reasons such as money, superiority, or the inability to distribute work equally. Do the guys from the group “Benom” ever argue?

The hardest situation was when only the two of us were left in the office. Unable to agree on a creative topic, we got into such a physical fight. We didn't stop until we had no strength left. We fought to such an extent that the furniture was covered in blood. We were young, and there was no one to separate us or tell us “don't fight.” When we came to our senses, calmed down, and looked at each other, we burst out laughing. Actually, after arguments, people get even closer because accumulated resentment is released, say the group members.

“We do not want to reveal our families to the public”

— We have many topics that we do not want to disclose. For example, I do not like questions about how much money I earn or how much of it I spend, says Sarvar.

— And I believe that an artist should have a private territory, and questions regarding this territory should not be asked of them, says Komil Fozilov.

— There are also cases where an artist's relatives suffer as a result of them revealing their personal life to the public. For example, we do not want our brothers or sisters to suffer because of us. If we talk about our family somewhere, tomorrow our siblings' acquaintances might tell them, “So this is your brother, bring him over.”

It has been 16 years since we started our creative career, and during this time I have seen many such situations. Therefore, family is a private territory for us. We will never show it off to the public, says Sarvar Azimov.

“Without knowing it was gambling, we advertised it”

— Life has taught us one of the hardest but most valuable lessons. At a time when advertising on social networks was just developing, we received an advertising offer. We signed a contract for a very large amount of money. We were also very happy, thinking, “If we focus all our energy on creativity, even if we don't perform at weddings, such advertisements can come our way because of our popularity.”

It was explained to us that this website was a sports website. We advertised that website. Later, we found out that there were gambling games on it. That is, people place money, predict the outcome of a game in advance, and depending on the result, they can win or lose money. Whether they want to or not, some people can get carried away by excitement and bet all their money.

After that, we wanted to terminate the contract. However, the agreement included a condition to release several videos, and we were only halfway through the contract. Worst of all, if we broke the contract, we had to pay ten times the money we received. In short, we were trapped.

In the end, with great embarrassment, we finished the number of advertisements specified in the contract. But at that time, every day when I read the news on social networks, I would come across reports like “Someone got into big debt and committed suicide,” “Someone bet the money they saved to buy a house on gambling.”

Although not only we, but other people also did such advertisements, Komil and I felt guilty. If only we could erase this situation from our creative path, says Sarvar Azimov.