Singer Adnan Sami says he did not become an Indian citizen for money

Popular singer Adnan Sami became an Indian citizen in 2016, giving up his Pakistani citizenship. While he received flak from across the border for the move, Sami has always maintained that he is proud to be a citizen of India. In fact, he was also awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, earlier this year.

Adnan Sami reveals Asha Bhosle`s advice to him

Adnan Sami has now revealed the real reason behind starting to make music in India. “After the songs I released in 1998, people in the Pakistani music industry thought I was finished. So they didn’t provide any marketing for those songs. Nobody got to know when the album was released—it just vanished. I was very dejected. I was in Canada at that time. I knew they’d done that on purpose,” recalled Sami in an interview with India TV.

Sami shared that he had discussed the issue with singer Asha Bhosle back then. She had sung popular tracks like “Kabhi To Nazar Milao” from his 1997 album Badaltey Mausam with him. “I told Ashaji I’m dejected because people here have decided they don’t want to work with me for whatever reason, and that I want to record with her in London,” said Sami.

Recalling what Bhosle told him, he said, “‘Why do you want to record in London?’ she asked me. I said I know some people there. So she said, ‘See, if you really want to do something new, come to Mumbai. This is the capital of Hindi music. Whatever gets popular here spreads out to the rest of the world. So this is the place to come.’”

Sami then came to Mumbai and was taken good care of by Bhosle and her family. Bhosle was married to the legendary music composer R.D. Burman, who passed away in 1994. “She made me stay in R.D. Burman’s home. I was very lucky because it was like a music temple,” recalled Sami.

Adnan`s success in India 

Adnan soon found success in India with songs like `Kabhi To Nazar Milao`, `Bheegi Bheegi Raaton Mein`, `Lift Karadey`. “The songs were marketed so well here that the rest is history. The way people embraced and loved me, I could’ve never imagined it,” he added. 

“You can’t deny the audience and the masses here are huge. The attitude and respect for music in India can’t be matched anywhere else,” he said adding that several artists in Pakistan did not get the support they deserved. 

Adnan Sami on taking Indian citizenship

Further talking about his Indian citizenship, Sami emphasized that he did not take the decision for money. He said he left his inherited properties worth crores back in Pakistan. “Money wasn’t my driving force. In fact, when I came here, I had to start from scratch again,” said Sami.

“I was facing a lot of problems then as a Pakistani citizen, especially in a public profession. Everyone knows all your moves. I had even reached out to [Pervez] Musharraf for help,” he revealed.

This article first appeared on Mid Day