Music

Farhan Saeed recalls singing altered rendition of 'Dil Dil Pakistan' in India

Singer took a gamble in the past and it paid off

Entertainment Desk July 04, 2023

Singer and actor Farhan Saeed, who was a part of the band Jal, recently spoke about his experience of performing in India. One particular anecdote revolved around him suddenly worrying band members by beginning a rendition of Dil Dil Pakistan in Delhi.

In a video by Brut India, Farhan can be seen recalling the time when he took a major risk, altering a local anthem for an Indian audience. "There's this song of ours you know, 'Dil Dil Pakistan, Jaan Jaan Pakistan'," he stated. "So one time, we were performing in Delhi, and we were performing Aadat and the crowd was almost 30,000 people. When you're on that stage, and because of that rush, you do crazy things."

The singer then went on to highlight the incident in question, where a case of altered lyrics became a source of joy for the crowd. "My band didn't know what I'm about to do...So I started singing. It begins with 'Aisi zameen, aur aasmaan.' So when I started this, my band started looking at me [like] what is he doing? We are standing in India and what is he...So I just told them, 'Don't worry, I know what I'm doing.' So, I started like this."

Recalling further, he said, "And then I went like Dil Dil Pakistan, Jaan Jaan Hindustan. And when I did that, the entire crowd went crazy. They started singing with us and everything. So that happened, and my band said, 'Well done, wow. What a great thing to do. Everybody was so happy. So then it became a ritual we do."

The ritual, however, seemed to hit a snag in Calcutta, where a case of misinterpreted pronunciations led a crowd of around 25 people to gather and take offence with the band's rendition of the song. "So we went to Calcutta and did the same thing," remembered Saeed.

"We didn't know in Calcutta that they probably...there's this language, their first language is Bengali. So we didn't know that they wouldn't understand what we were saying. So when we said 'Dil Dil Pakistan, Jaan Jaan Hindustan,' the crowd enjoyed it. But 20-25 people just gathered behind the stage and they were quite mad."

Continuing further, Saeed shared that they questioned why the small group had gathered. "They thought we were saying, 'Dil Dil Pakistan, ja ja Hindustan.' So that was quite funny. And when they got to know what we were actually saying was 'Jaan Jaan Hindustan,' it was actually quite funny."

Saeed also spoke about the political divide that exists between India and Pakistan that impacts artists. “Arts and sports should be left alone, it shouldn't be politicised at all," stated the singing sensation, who enjoys fame across both sides of the border.