Adnan Sami''s son Azaan: I have grown up in India, but Pakistan is my home

Mumbai, September 4

Singer-composer Adnan Sami might have opted for Indian citizenship, but his son Azaan Sami Khan insists on calling Pakistan his home.

"The reason I have never really spoken about it before is because he is my father. I love him and respect him. He has made certain decisions of where he wants to live and which country he chooses to call home, and I respect that. What I choose to call home now is my choice and I chose to work in Pakistan," said Azaan, in an interview to BBC.

Azaan, a music composer, revealed that although he spent his teenage days in India, he prefers to call Pakistan his home and is proud of the fact.

"I have amazing friends there (in India). I have lived a lot of my life there—my teen years particularly, but Pakistan is my home. I have grown up there but I feel like the industry in Pakistan is my family. There is immense pride for me, and hope and ambition that I contribute to an industry which I call home," he said.  

Azaan is Adnan Sami's son from the singer's first wife, Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiar.

When Azaan was quizzed on Sami's 'controversial' views on the rising tension between India and Pakistan, as well as on the Kashmir issue, he replied: "Yes, there are days when it is very interesting how people around me react when stuff like that happens, because he is my father. Normally, you keep getting messages for different things and there have been days when stuff has happened and there has just been silence." 

Asked if he has ever had a debate or discussion with his dad regarding the latter's political views, Azaan replied: "What he and I talk about should remain between us. We have had a very tested relationship over the years. I grew up with my mother. Him and I were more like friends. He is someone I go to for advice. It is a very interesting relationship because we may at times not speak for months but when we do, we just get each other. So, when I say I respect him, I get when he comes from. And as I child I think it is not our place to comment on what our parents do. We can advise, we can suggest, but it is not our place to tell them what to do."

Calling his dad "musically a legend", Azaan shared that Adnan Sami is also one of his best critics. "I share a lot of stuff with him. He is one of the best critics. One thing which I will always be grateful for is that he has never tried to influence my music," he said. — IANS