Adnan Sami On Receiving The Padma Shri

Adnan Sami Speaks to Subhash  K Jha On  Receiving  The Padma Shri

 How has Pakistan  reacted to your Padma Sri?

Adnan Sami –How do you  think they reacted? There  was  a  lot  of nasty criticism. If they didn’t like my being honoured  by  the Indian government, MY government, then too bad. They just have to deal with  it.  You know, ever since  I opted  for an Indian citizenship , Pakistanis aren’t happy with  it.

I wonder why?

Adnan Sami –(laughs) I wonder  too. But  you know what? I feel the more I’m trolled by Pakistanis, the  more I am on the right  path.I must be  doing something  right for them to be so angry.

So what  did it feel  like  to  receive  the Padma from the President?

Adnan Sami –Have you  ever been in that  spectacular hall in  the  Rashtrapati Bhavan where the Padma awards  are  given? Just to be in that epic room  with all those achievers  from all over the country from all walks of life, is such a  humbling experience .

What were you thinking as you sat there?
Adnan Sami-I was  thinking of how proud  my father would have been  to see  me getting honoured  by the Indian government.It made teary-eyed.  I was looking at some of the winners whom I had  never heard of. They came from such humble backgrounds and they had achieved so  much in their field. We  would think that artistes  scholars and  other achievers from such  humble backgrounds would go unnoticed. Not so. The  Indian government honours these artisans, painter,folk singers who  constitute such an integral yet neglected  part of our culture. I felt proud to be  in the same room as  them.

Do you   think Indians  per se  tend to  give too much importance film actors and not so much to  other artistes?

Adnan Sami-We are  a film-fixated nation, and  thank God for that(laughs).

What does the Padma Shri  mean  to your career?

Adn-an Sami It spurs  me  on to do better and better work. I want to  make India  proud. In the coming months , you will be  hearing more of me. I am working on  some projects  that  I can’t speak about.  But it  is the midpoint   of my career.And I am glad I got the Padma  Shri now and not much later.

 How do you  look back on  your journey so far?

Adnan Sami –It’s been an incredible  journey so far. I  have been  through  the worst of crisis  including two broken marriages,  change  of nationality, death threats …you name  it. And now here I am finally at  peace with my  past and present.  The Padma Shri reminds  me  of how much I’ve yet to achieve.As Shah  Rukh Khan  famously said, ‘Abhi picture baqi hai, mere dost.’  And yes, I am working on  the  first part of  my memoir.