Adnan Sami Khan is a singer, musician, composer, and pianist. He performs Indian and Western music in many languages, such as Hindi, Urdu, English, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. He has been awarded with Padma Shri (India’s fourth-highest civilian award) for his remarkable contribution to music. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Bubble, Adnan Sami recalled how he convinced Amitabh Bachchan to sing Kabhi Nahi and how a small gesture became the iconic hook step of Lift Kara De.
Adnan Sami On Working With Amitabh Bachchan
Speaking of earning the chance to work with Amitabh Bachchan, Adnan Sami said, “You know, it’s a simple thing, I live by a very simple philosophy in life: when you want to do something, go for it. In the worst-case scenario, it won’t happen, but it’s not the end of the world. Ask for it, try, nothing is stopping you from trying. I was a huge fan of Amitabh Bachchan since childhood. It was always a dream of mine to work with him.“
Continuing, he said, “It was one of those things on my bucket list that I truly wanted to achieve. He knew me, I knew him, and one day I just went to see him and played him this song. He said, ‘Oh, it’s a very nice song,’ and I replied, ‘It’ll be even nicer if you sing it.’ He said, ‘No, no, no way,’ but I kept trying to convince him.”
Adnan added, “Eventually, he said, ‘Leave it with me for a while, let me think about it, and I’ll get back to you.’ Luckily, he did, and then we recorded it. It was truly a dream come true, something I had wanted since I was a child. And like I said, what’s the worst that could have happened? He could have said no. But he wouldn’t have been offended if you approached someone and said, ‘I really admire your work and I’d love to collaborate,’ you’re not offending them, you’re paying them a compliment.”
He continued, “If they want to do it, they will. If not, and they have grace, they’ll turn you down politely. That’s okay, it didn’t work out, it’s not the end of the world. You move on and try something else. But it’s better than living your life with the thought, ‘What if?’ Don’t live your life with regrets, give it a shot. You only have one life, and as of now, there’s no sequel.”
Adnan Sami On Lift Kara De Choreography
When asked about the choreography of his song, Lift Kara De, Adnan Sami said, “No, no, this was. I’ll tell you it was a very simple thing that happened purely by chance. I was recording with an engineer who, for some strange reason, loved listening to music at a very, very low volume. Now, this particular song had a tremendous amount of passion, and sometimes I wanted him to increase the volume without me having to say it out loud.”
The singer said, “So I’d give him a little signal, like a gesture, and he’d turn it up. It became a kind of running joke or ritual during that entire recording session. Every time I’d walk in, I’d say, ‘Okay, you remember what you need to do, right?’”
Adnan Sami On The Iconic Step
Concluding, the singer said, “And then we’d start dancing around the studio doing that same gesture. Later, when we were shooting the music video, we were trying all kinds of different things, and I suddenly remembered that move. I told Bosco, he did the video and choreography, I said, ‘You know, I have this little thing I keep doing‘. And he asked, ‘What is it?’ I showed him, and he said, ‘Hey, this is really great!’ That’s how iconic steps are made, guys, he just said, ‘Do that, just do that!’ So I ended up doing it in the video, and it caught on. The rest is history. Even today, during concerts, audiences in the middle of the show still ask for that move.”
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