Music, memories and more

Mumbai: Noted Pakistani musician, composer and singer Adnan Sami carved a niche for himself in the Indian music industry with his unique style of singing and composing in the early 2000s. Recently heard in a solo Sweeta in Shaad Ali’s Kill Dil, Sami said that this project was his coming together with Shaad and Gulzar after a long gap.

He shares, “The last time that all three of us had collaborated was for the blockbuster hit Aye udi udi from Saathiya. And since I got to work with composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy too after a few years, it brought up a lot of memories.” Adding further about Sweeta, Sami says, “Gulzar saab has got a very wicked sense of humour, hence the mood of Sweeta was very playful, peppy and modern, but in a very unique Gulzarish fashion. So, to bring out all of that playfulness or wickedness in a vocal performance was quite taxing,” he laughs. “Sweeta also happens to be the shortest song that I had ever sung. Usually all my songs are at least five to six minutes, long but for this song, I had to wrap up all the praises for the leading lady within a duration of two minutes,” he candidly adds. Talking about his love and admiration for the great poet-lyricist Gulzar, Sami reminisces, “Gulzar saab and I go back more than 20 years. The first time that we worked together was in the year 1992 and we have done some wonderful work over the decades. It has always been a pleasure and honour to work with him.”

When asked about his association with the trio Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy, he replies, “Well, our equation is pretty much time-honoured. All of us are good old friends apart from being professional colleagues. The trio and I relate on completely different levels. See Ehsaan and Loy are musicians and so am I. Hence, we vibe on a common cultural level. With Shankar being a singer and me too, we relate to each other on that plane. And if you combine all three of them, they are music composers and luckily I am a composer too. All in all, my relationship with them is multi-dimensional and we understand one other much better and clearer. Everybody is so well synchronised that it is just great fun to work together.”

While talking about his hiatus, Sami also adds that he’s been working non-stop since 1986 and that’s why he needed a break to refuel and reinvent himself. “I felt like taking some time off as I needed to reinvent myself. Besides, I’ve always been selective about my work. But this time around, the self-imposed sabbatical was substantial because of a solid reason.” Post a pause, the multifaceted musician informs: “Well, I am working on a script and planning to take up direction too in the near future. I am also busy shaping up my new album after which, I’ll be composing for a few Bollywood projects and then resume playback singing.”