On World Music Day, Adnan Sami says 'whenever I display my love for India, it ignites the other side’
Padma Shri Adnan Sami, who completes a decade as an Indian citizen this year, shares why he left his Pakistani identity behind and how he takes trolls head-on.
Though he started living in India in 2000, he continued to stay and work in Mumbai on a Pakistani passport, until he became an Indian citizen in December 2015. A ‘proud Indian’, composer-singer Adnan Sami doesn’t mince his words when it comes to expressing his love for India, from posting a Tricolour in-ear after Operation Sindoor to taking trolls head-on when his allegiance for India is questioned. On World Music Day, he talks about being fearless, why he chose to make India his home, and more.
On the Tricolour in-ear uproar
Whenever I display my passion and love for India, it ignites the other side. They can’t take that. It’s like, ‘Say anything, but don’t say that’. They don’t seem to understand that when they talk about the love for their flag, their country, nobody will turn around and say that they are doing so to prove something. But when I do that for my India, they say, ‘He’s trying to show off and prove his loyalty’. Every countryman shows their love and allegiance for their country, what’s the big deal in that? At least I am showing it for my country, in Pakistan, they show it for the Army. It’s the only country in the world where the Army has got a country in it and not vice versa.
On making India his home
When you’re born into a family of a certain faith or social status, it’s not your choice, you inherit it. But when you convert and take to another religion, you do so because you study the philosophy of that belief and understand what it stands for. So, it’s an informed decision. Making India my home didn’t come on a platter. I could have become a German, British, Canadian or US citizen. I chose India because of conviction. And that’s something Pakistan cannot stand. I too grew up amid the same propaganda in Pakistan, until I came and witnessed it myself. Now I know exactly how India is and how Pakistan is. If someone says I moved to India for money, I want to tell them that I left assets worth crores when I moved to India. When I stand at the airport in India and look at the flag, I tell myself: ‘My kids better remember what their father went through to get that flag, because it’s something that didn’t come on a platter’. I live with those emotions. I have every right to love my country, my India.
Not sparing trolls
Growing up, we were told that we should never blow our own trumpet and be humble. But now we are living in a time when everyone is marketing themselves: ‘Maine yeh kar liya, maine woh kar liya’. Earlier, if I felt sharing my opinion on something would be slightly controversial, I would just stay quiet, because main jhooth nahin bol sakta. But log khamoshi ko meri kamzori samajhne lagey, unhe lagne laga, ‘yeh to backfoot pe hai’. Hence, I started speaking the language people understand, because the trolls needed to be told off.
India, the land of music
I went all over the world, but I never felt more at home with my existence and music than India. If I was a swimmer, India was my swimming pool. I wanted a place that could help my passion for music grow and you cannot deny that jitni mohabbat aur izzat music ko India mein di jaati hai, it’s unparalleled. Wasn’t it a miracle that as a public figure with a Pakistani passport, I could live here peaceful from 2000 to 2016, until I got my citizenship?
Being fearless
People evolve. I realised a few years ago that the good old cliche that the truth will set you free is so apt that you don’t have to worry about anything else. Hum poori zindagi darr ke rehne mein guzaar dete hain. But when you realise ki zindagi ka sabse bada khauf sirf maut hai, aapko aur kisi baat ka khauf nahin hona chahiye kyunki woh waqt upar waale ne tay kiya hua hai. Your destiny is written by the Almighty so why have the fear of anyone else? I have seen so much in life, so I don’t care about the consequences.
Moving to India - personal or work decision?
Personal. A lot of people separate their personal life from their profession. Music, to me, is my passion and has always been my personal space. It’s never been a profession for me. I never look at the watch when it comes to music, the longest so far being 48 hours. I was like that back in my teenage and I am still the same. It’s so beautiful that you make your livelihood out of something that’s so much fun. I went all over the world, but I never felt more at home with my existence and music than India. If I was a swimmer, India was my swimming pool. I wanted a place that could help my passion for music grow and you cannot deny that joh mohabbat aur izzat music ko India mein di jaati hai, it’s unparalleled. Wasn’t it a miracle that as a public figure with a Pakistani passport, I could live here peacefull from 2000 to 2016, until I got my citizenship?
When you started out, there was a section in the music fraternity that was not okay with ‘outsiders’. Did you ever experience that outsider to insider transition?
Pakistani musicians such as Mehdi Haasan Khan, Farida Khanum, Ghulam Ali, Nushrat Fateh Ali Khan etc were working in India for many decades. But when I and some other Pakistani musicians (such as Atif Aslam, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and Ali Zafar) came in the scene, there was a difference between them and me. I was living in India and working here, while they would come, work and leave. So this section that had an issue comprised artistes who were frustrated themselves and were barely working. They should have realised that India is such a big market for music, that people from across the world would want to try their hand here, and they should have been welcoming. But the reasons for not allowing Pakistani artistes to work in India now is absolutely valid. Art has been used in the past for the purpose of political indoctrination. There’s nothing like art has no boundaries. No matter who you are, you belong somewhere. Otherwise artistes wouldn’t have been issued passports!
Is your daughter Medina also into music?
Yes, very much. She is 8 and plays the piano. I don’t teach her. She has a teacher who comes in, as learning music needs a certain kind of discipline. She’s also passionate about singing and writing poetry.
How do you keep her guarded from all the negativity?
I always wanted to send her to a school where she could just be a herself, and was not seen as a celeb child. I want her to have a normal childhood. I try to keep her away from all the filmi things, because this is not the time for it. When I enter the house, I am just baba who makes her a sandwich. That’s my way of keeping her guarded. Baaki sab upar waale ke haath mein hai.
What’s Asha Bhosle to you?
Asha ji is like a mother to me. My relationship with her is how a normal mother-son bond is. We love each other and we fight too. My respect for her as a human being and artiste is infinite. There’s no one as brilliant and versatile as Asha ji. She’s 91 and is still so magical. Lata Mangeshkar once said, ‘Jo gaane main gaa sakti hoon, woh Asha gaa sakti hai. Par jo gaane Asha gaati hai, woh main nahin ga sakti’.
