Adnan Sami says he was shocked when people said he was moving to India for money: ‘Do you have any idea of my background?’

Adnan Sami revealed that he gave up his inheritance in Pakistan and moved to India because he felt at home here.

New Delhi | March 23, 2023 08:08 AM IST

3 min read

Adnan Sami said that he gave up his inheritance in Pakistan. (Photo: Express Archives)

Adnan Sami gave up his Pakistani citizenship and acquired Indian citizenship in 2016. The move found naysayers on both sides of the border and there were even some people in Pakistan who said that Adnan’s relocation was motivated by money. In a recent interview, the singer-composer said that many people “volunteered their unsolicited opinions” on his life and came up with their “own reasonings”.

He told Humans of Bombay, “Some people in Pakistan turned around and said, ‘Oh, he has chosen India because he has got more money over there, he’s making more money over there.’ I said, ‘Excuse me, do you have any idea what my family background is? Do you have any idea that money has never been a factor in my life? I have been blessed to have been born and brought up in a very well-to-do, wealthy family. Money, if at all, I have given up a lot, because there’s a tremendous amount of stuff that I could have inherited from there (Pakistan) which I have given away.'”

Adnan Sami questioned why it was so difficult for people to accept that he “loved India” and “felt at home” here, which is why he wanted to relocate. He added, “The kind of love and appreciation I got over here, overwhelmed me as an artiste.”

Also Read | Kumar Sanu on stories behind his 7 most-loved songs: When RD Burman abused him, Salman Khan couldn’t lip-sync his song

The Tera Chehra singer admitted that the move was a “big deal” because of the political scenario between the two countries and said, “I understand why it is a big deal because of the animosity between the two countries. It’s a political issue but the point is, I have nothing to do with politics. I am a musician.”

In a previous conversation with Mashable India, Adnan Sami had shared that it took him 18 years to get Indian citizenship. “It took me 18 years, but what I’m trying to say here is this, in those 18 years, I didn’t say anything to the world about this. I was rejected twice. I had to give up my original citizenship, and for a while, I was stateless. For a year and a half, I didn’t belong to any country. A passport is just a document, but I was not owned by any country, and in that state, I could not travel, I could not do anything,” he had shared.

From the homepage