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What was behind Jagjit-Sami spat
Jagjit Singh said “People like him (Adnan Sami) should be sent back to Pakistan”. Adnan Sami now says he ‘can’t believe it’. HT City tried to get to the bottom of the mysterious rift brewing between the Ghazal maestro and the musician. Himadree tells more.
Jagjit Singh said “People like him [Adnan Sami] should be sent back to Pakistan”. Adnan Sami now says he ‘can’t believe it’. HT City tried to get to the bottom of the mysterious rift brewing between the Ghazal maestro and the musician.
Reports say that when Sami decided to bring together stalwarts of Indian music for a particular track for the movie 1920, Jagjit was approached, but finally it was Kailash Kher who sang his part.
We spoke to the movie’s director Vikram Bhatt, who explains, “Initially he [Jagjit Singh] was a part of track that Adnan was working on. But things didn’t work out, the issue being mainly monetary. I couldn’t afford Jagjit sahab. It was already a huge budget.”
Probably irked by the incident, Singh said in a recent interview: “He [Adnan] can't even sing. People like him should be sent back to work there [Pakistan] because they make money in India and send it to Pakistan.”
Responding to this, Sami said he couldn’t believe Singh would talk about him like this. “He’s always been so sweet to me. I’m his biggest fan... why would he accuse me of sending money to Pakistan? I earn and pay taxes in Mumbai, I can show you my PAN card,” he says.
Bhatt adds that Jagjit's comments come at a volatile time. “We shouldn’t throw out singers from Pakistan because of terrorism. However, those who come to India, work here, and also get our love and respect. They should also respect us in return.”
(With inputs from IANS)
