Daily Times

Azaan Sami Khan is a total Karachiite at heart! The 28-year-old singer, who has found a home in the city of lights, often wonders why he finds comfort here when most of his family has moved abroad. Despite the fair share of issues and hardships the city throws at everyone, the singer-cum-actor chooses to romanticise the resilience – and it surprises him too!

In conversation with Fuchsia, Azaan spoke about his childhood, his love for food and of course his music. Speaking about what kind of a kid he was back in school, Azaan regretfully shared that he wished he did better. “All of my cousins are the studious nerd types and so even when I tried, my mom would say well but do you know how much Usman scored? That’s when I decided not to get into that lane at all,” he laughed. “The subjects I liked, I’d score great in them but the rest, and I’d just try to barely pass. But when I look back, I could’ve done better if I tried.”

Apart from studies, the Ik Lamha crooner was never a troublesome kid. “I never had a rebellious stage. My mom always maintained that chill relationship with me. She taught me how to puncture tires for fun. So, when your mom teaches you such pranks, there was no space to be rebellious. I never felt like it,” he said adding that the only worry he’d have been to not do anything that hurts their warm relationship. “Not letting her down was a pressure. I never wanted to upset her and feel like her efforts went in vain.”

“There’s a saying in my paternal family about how, all of us, have been big at some point in our lives so they say that ‘hum aise yunhi toh nahi hogaye, khaate peete rehte hain,’ so we all are big foodies,” he chuckled adding that he and his khala (aunt) would try all kinds of foods in the city together.

“Which restaurants serve what, what time should you go for fresh food, what times to avoid, restaurant rankings and all – we’re like food tour guides and not just in Karachi,” he added. Talking about his favourite comfort food growing up, Azaan shared that he loves paratha rolls. “I had a phase where I’d want rolls after school every day and so we’d go to Hot N Spicy, Eaton or Red Apple. We’d also go to Hanifia, Silver Spoon and Kaybees.”

A lesser-known fact is that Azaan started working on his music very early in his life. “There are some horrible videos from when I was 12-13 years old on YouTube even now. So now if one of my songs becomes popular, my friends would sit and play those instead,” he exclaimed, adding that his mom once played his early teenage music in front of his kids too.

“A father wants to maintain some ground in front of his kids but when my mom played that, it was done. They couldn’t understand why I sounded like them and thought it was a fake voice. I tried to explain how puberty works but I guess they’ll figure it out soon,” he said.

Inquiring about a tune the singer was humming, the host asked whether a new song is in the works or it was from an old song. “I don’t listen to or hum anything that I’ve released already and the reason for that is one that many artists also say. The song was mine at some point and when I released it, it’s now someone else’s. Of course, it’s still special for me and the fact that I released it should mean that I have an emotional connection but I don’t engage with my previous work,” he said adding that he subconsciously hums a lot of tunes for his upcoming music.

Upon which Pakistani song is his favourite, Azaan quickly hummed Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s Mast Nazron Se Allah Bachaye, and then he went on to add that he likes a lot of Nusrat’s work and most of his dad’s old work. “He’s also a Pakistani,” he smiled.

Speaking about local music, Azaan recently sang the OST titled Dildara for the star-studded Nadeem Baig directorial Kuch Ankahi. Talking about how he always shares his music with his kids, he recalled, “When Nadeem sir sent me the first cut, I showed it to them and one of them asked when was it recorded and why didn’t they know,” he paused to laugh. “But they loved it. It’s a sing-along song. It’s their type. Kids would love it.”

Sharing another anecdote about how his kids helped him choose between songs for his new album, he said, “My kids are always part of the process. We were on a train ride recently and I made them listen to the whole album. There were two songs of the same feel and I felt only one of them should be there and they helped me choose.”

He further added that children are the best audience for their unfiltered and honest feedback. “My daughter came to me after a couple of days and I asked her which song did she like the most and she named a song. I asked her why and she said because that’s the only one she remembers. So that’s the real feedback.”

The interview was conducted while Azaan drove around the city and recalled many places like Bohri Bazaar and Hotel Jabees and how during his childhood, Saddar was the real deal. “Most of my family has moved out now. And I often think that I can also but there’s a certain attachment with his city that doesn’t let me. It surprises me because my answer to what Karachi means for me is the people that made it home but they’re also almost gone and it still feels the same,” he concluded.