Adnan Sami reveals why he couldn’t experiment with music for 30 years: ‘Had to put desi tadka’

Why Adnan Sami couldn’t experiment earlier

“This is a romantic song, but even within romance, you can present it in different ways and dress it differently. But it’s still romance. We couldn’t do that earlier because we had to stay within a boundary,” Sami tells SCREEN in an exclusive interview. “Somehow, romance and rains have been a very important of my life. I’ve made so many songs with both. As a musician, it’s very important for me to evolve. I don’t like to stay within an area,” he adds.

When we quiz him about this “boundary”, Sami recalled that back when he began making music three decades ago, “the format used to be very different”, largely limited to cassettes and CDs. “The listener was used to two styles of music — the film music and the independent music, which was also pretty filmy-influenced,” he says, adding that he believes it had a lot to do with the price in exchange of that music.

“We were dealing with CDs and cassettes. . If you wanted music in your house, you had to go buy a cassette or a CD. Even in my childhood, I used to have a budget, so I’d buy only what I’d heard on the radio or through the music video. I didn’t have the money to listen to any other music. And that’s, by and large, everyone’s story,” Sami recalls.

But in Sami’s case, since his father was a diplomat, he had the luxury of not only travelling to, but also staying in various parts of the world, from London, Portugal (where he picked up the piano), Pakistan, Dubai to finally, India. “Since my father was in that kind of a work line, we moved from one country to another. I was exposed to different kinds of genres and music. They all played a part in who I was,” says Sami.

But when he entered the music industry, he soon learnt that the average listener wasn’t as receptive to his “alien” experiments. “Then the format changed. CDs and cassettes went out of circulation. Streaming came in. You could buy one CD for say, Rs 100. But on streaming, you pay the same amount for a subscription, where you have access to music from the entire world. You can listen to music from Timbuktu. Now, the only limitation is your own,” he adds.

Given the average listener is now far more receptive, it comes as a long-awaited relief for Sami. “For somebody like me, who has been dying to share all other kinds of genres, which I couldn’t do in the past, suddenly feels liberated. Because now, I know there’s a big audience that’s open to experimentation. It’s allowed me to unleash what I’d bottled up before,” he confesses.

When Adnan Sami experimented within the constraints

However, Sami pointed out that while he always showcased range in his music, there was still a line he had to draw somewhere. For instance, his memorable fun jugalbandi with Amitabh Bachchan, “Kabhi Nahee“, was from the same album as the romantic ballad “Tera Chehra”. And his irreverent breakthrough, “Lift Kara De” shared the same album as his loved-up duet with Asha Bhosle, “Kabhi To Nazar Milao”.

“I tried to go to the edge, but then I’d insert tabla-dholak in the middle so that thoda desipana aa jaye (laughs),” admits Sami. After a point, he became so synonymous with those music instruments that makers got fed up of it. “If you listen to ‘Lucky Lips’ sung by Asha Bhosle, it’s a complete Latino arrangement. Everybody said it’s good to go, but I said, ‘Let me add tabla-dholak to it.’ They said, ‘No, don’t do it.’ I said, ‘I can hear it in my head. It’s going to sound really good. You trust me on this.’ They agreed reluctantly, and it worked! The same thing happened with ‘Tera Chehra’ and ‘Pal Do Pal’. I still believe in giving desi tadka because that’s who we are,” argued Sami.

From composing “Lucky Lips” to singing his previous track “Lipstick”, he’s come a long way. That song surprised his fans, who couldn’t believe it was by the same singer who once captured their imagination with love songs. “From that to this song, it’s chalk and cheese. This would happen in the future as well. I want to share everything that I’d kept to myself till now. After a long time, I’m really enjoying the process,” says Sami, beaming.

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He’s also grateful to the label, Zee Music, for backing his experiments, given the current climate is all about repeating what works, including rehashes. “Sometimes, when I suggest something that’s slightly ‘safe’, they say, ‘No no, we’re with you on that. Go that direction.’ Which big label does that today? We’re living at a time when everyone tries to play safe, which is also sad. Not just in music, but even in cinema. We all know that the whole idea of franchises is to play safe,” he says.