Illegal stay: Singer Adnan Sami asked to leave India
Trade union wing of militant group informed police that Sami had overstayed.
Sami was issued a notice by the Mumbai police on Tuesday for overstaying in India after his visa expired earlier this month. PHOTO: FILE
NEW DELHI:
Singer Adnan Sami has become an unwitting victim. Already embroiled in a bitter legal battle with his former wife over some property, Sami has now been asked to leave India by a trade union wing of the Maharastra-based militant organisation Navnirman Sena.
Sami was issued a notice by the Mumbai police on Tuesday for overstaying in India after his visa expired earlier this month.
The 44-year-old, who has made India his second home for the last several years, has been asked to reply to the notice and explain reasons for overstaying and making efforts to get his visa renewed.
Sami, a London-born singer and composer of Pakistani origin, has regularly composed and sang for Bollywood films.
Sami’s visa expiry issue came to the fore during the hearing of his ongoing divorce-cum-property case against his former wife Sabah Galadari in a Mumbai court last week. Sami had told the court that his visa had been regularly renewed and the last renewal was
for the period Sep 26, 2012 to Oct 6, 2013.
Getting wind of it, the Maharashtra Navnirman Cine Workers’ Association informed the Maharashtra police who served a notice on Sami for overstaying.
Amey Khopkar, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) film wing president said, “Sami met us at our office today, seeking our cooperation but we told him to leave the country as his visa had expired.”
“We told Sami that Indian artistes are our foremost priority. We received complaints about him staying in India illegally and called him,” Khopkar said, adding that the MNS had asked authorities to not allow any extensions.
“We have a lot of talented artists of our own and do not need Pakistanis to come and sing here. Besides, whatever money he earns here, he probably sends it to Pakistan, and that country will be using the same money against us. So he has to leave the country,” Khopkar was quoted as saying.
The matter would not have been pursued so actively, had the MNS not become so active.
Sami will now have to leave India for a brief period before returning again.
The MNS, a militant pro-Hindu organisation that has split from its parent body – the Shiv Sena, is active in unioninising film industry workers and has recently launched the Maharashtra Navnirman Cine Workers’ Association.
Several high-profile actors have joined this organisation to voice their reservations of the unregulated wages of workers in an industry where there is no correlation between remuneration paid to the best and to the mediocre.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2013.
Singer Adnan Sami has become an unwitting victim. Already embroiled in a bitter legal battle with his former wife over some property, Sami has now been asked to leave India by a trade union wing of the Maharastra-based militant organisation Navnirman Sena.
Sami was issued a notice by the Mumbai police on Tuesday for overstaying in India after his visa expired earlier this month.
The 44-year-old, who has made India his second home for the last several years, has been asked to reply to the notice and explain reasons for overstaying and making efforts to get his visa renewed.
Sami, a London-born singer and composer of Pakistani origin, has regularly composed and sang for Bollywood films.
Sami’s visa expiry issue came to the fore during the hearing of his ongoing divorce-cum-property case against his former wife Sabah Galadari in a Mumbai court last week. Sami had told the court that his visa had been regularly renewed and the last renewal was
for the period Sep 26, 2012 to Oct 6, 2013.
Getting wind of it, the Maharashtra Navnirman Cine Workers’ Association informed the Maharashtra police who served a notice on Sami for overstaying.
Amey Khopkar, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) film wing president said, “Sami met us at our office today, seeking our cooperation but we told him to leave the country as his visa had expired.”
“We told Sami that Indian artistes are our foremost priority. We received complaints about him staying in India illegally and called him,” Khopkar said, adding that the MNS had asked authorities to not allow any extensions.
“We have a lot of talented artists of our own and do not need Pakistanis to come and sing here. Besides, whatever money he earns here, he probably sends it to Pakistan, and that country will be using the same money against us. So he has to leave the country,” Khopkar was quoted as saying.
The matter would not have been pursued so actively, had the MNS not become so active.
Sami will now have to leave India for a brief period before returning again.
The MNS, a militant pro-Hindu organisation that has split from its parent body – the Shiv Sena, is active in unioninising film industry workers and has recently launched the Maharashtra Navnirman Cine Workers’ Association.
Several high-profile actors have joined this organisation to voice their reservations of the unregulated wages of workers in an industry where there is no correlation between remuneration paid to the best and to the mediocre.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2013.