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Home
is where the heart is
Adnan Sami Khan has made his mark in Bollywood and has worked
with music directors like A.R Rahman among others. His solo career
is also on the rise. Here is Adnan Sami Khan revealing all including
getting married, the citizenship issue in India and everything in
between...
By Shweta
Kulkarni |
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I
was perhaps in college when I first saw this ado-rable roly-poly man
romancing Rani Mukerji in his music video 'Tera Chehra'. Instantly
he had won a fan in me and obviously, a million others. The fastest
pianist in the world had effortlessly made a place for himself in
our hearts with his poignant voice and soulful music.
Today, Adnan Sami strikes me as perhaps the busiest person in the
HiFI circuit! After a month-long chase I finally pin him down at his
studio. After a quickie recording session, he steps out of the recording
room, murmuring apologies for the delay and perches himself on a chair,
simultaneously drawing one forward for me. I notice that though Adnan
has managed to lose most of his Santa chubbiness, he still has retained
his cuteness! |
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Must
say, I'm not the only observant one around – Adnan himself doesn't
miss the newspaper I'm carrying, whose cover story details his attempts
to procure Indian citizenship. "So are you going to ask me about
that? He smilingly points towards the newspaper and sportingly adds,
"Alright, go ahead!" Well, that's not supposed to be the
crux of my interview, but nevertheless I began with it…
A Pakistani by origin and born in England, the papers say that Adanan
is desperately looking to obtain Indian citizenship…
"Normally when people migrate from India to Britain, America
or any other place and when they become NRIS, the first thing they
want to do is to legally grab the citizenship of that particular country.
The simple reason for this is that they have made that country their
home, they have their life there and so they want to be as comfortable
as possible in that country. It's no different in my case and there
is nothing wrong with that," he justified his stance, which I
happen to completely agree with.
"I have been living here since the past 10 years," he continues.
"Mumbai is my home, India is my home, India has loved me and
embraced me like I could have never imagined and I felt that, regardless
of where I was born, I was meant to be here. In India, I found the
soul I was looking for. I have lived in all parts of the world, ranging
from Portugal, Sweden and London to Dubai, America and Canada and,
trust me, I have never felt as much at home as here in India. I have
always been in love with India ever since I was a kid and used to
come here with my mother. My mother is basically from Jammu. People
talk about me making a house here; well, obviously! This is my home,
I work here. Do you expect me to build a house in Bosnia and fly here
everyday?"
What irritates him even more is the fact that his registering marriage
to Dubai-based Sabah Galadari in Mumbai is seen as a ploy to get hold
of Indian citizenship!
"My marriage took place in Mumbai; where do they expect me to
register it, in Bodnia? Oh, someone said that I have still to get
the registration but I've had it with me since quite some time, so
I don't know from where that came," he shrugs.
Talking about marriage, Adnan hasn't exactly had a blissful matrimonial
experience in the past, going through the painful procedure do divorce
not once but twice, first with his Pakistani wife Zeba Bakhtiar and
then with his current wife Sabah, whom he recently remarried. Did
this ever shake his faith in the institution of marriage?
"These things happen and yes, I went through a very bad patch
emotionally but I never gave up on the institution of marriage just
because it did not work for me. Yes, I have been hurt but then I have
been able to put myself back again. I'm in a very wonderful phase
now emotionally because the love of my life is back here in my life!"
I just couldn't miss the content smile on his face!
"You know, love is one of the most beautiful things. It's the
strongest emotion in me. I'm in love with the idea of being in love.
It's such a tremendous emotion; it drives me in my personal life and
in my music because love is such a great subject to write and sing
about," he enthuses, striking me as a really emotional person.
"Oh ya, I tend to be quite an emotional and sensitive person,"
he admits, adding, "Moreover, I'm very emotional and sensitive
towards people, and their feelings. I would always keep in mind the
feelings of other people; they are sacred and I try not to hurt anyone's
feelings.
Often people are reckless and say things unthinkingly." Well,
he wouldn't belong in that category, would he?" Probably because
I have gone through it that I'm so conscious of it," he quietly
muses.
He further explains, "When I was really fat, people used to say
all kinds of crazy and nasty things about me, about my physical appearance
and sometimes, even drag my parents into it. I used to feel really
bad, you know. I mean, okay, in this profession I know you have to
be open to flowers and darts too, but why target my family? Now I
have lost weight but I'II never make fun of a fat person because I
know, on a personal level, what that person is going through. In fact,
I'II never make fun of anyone who may not be physically good looking
or handicapped."
Was people's nastiness the real reason behind his aggressive weight
loss mission?
"No, the weigh loss was something that was necessary for the
safety of my life. My weight was becoming an obstruction to my life.
My doctors advised me that if I wanted to live, I should lose weight.
Today it's very nice when people turn around and tell you that whoa,
you look very nice! But the fact remains that it was a struggle, it
was very difficult and it was very intense. I'm grateful to god that
today I can look back at the past and always hope, to make sure that
I never go back there again."
Born and educated in Britain at the prestigious Rugby School, Adnan
had always been inclined towards music. He began playing the piano
at the age of five and was first acknowledged by the world at the
age of 9, when BBC introduced him as a child prodigy. But interestingly
music is not his only domain.
"You know, I'm also a lawyer," he grins. "In fact,
I've also done my Bachelor's in journalism followed by my LLB."
Seeing the look of incredulity on my face he explains, "Well,
though my parents supported my passion for music tremendously throughout
my growing years, they did put special emphasis on education. They
explained to me that a proper education would groom me as a person
with a wider canvas and an awareness of the world. Also, if all failed,
I would always have an alternative."
Well, given his kind of talent and his constant desire to hit the
creative highs, those educational qualifications will most likely
never need to be an alternative for Adnan Sami!
-- Courtesy: Cine Blitz |
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