The actor is angry that Pakistan’s culture ministry did not support Reshma in her last days. PHOTO: FILE
Reshma died on Sunday in Lahore. The singer, who enthralled South Asians with her singing, could have lived if only her government had looked after her medical needs, feels Sami. The 44-year-old, who is currently based in Mumbai, said angrily that Pakistan is not a country for artistes, adding, “These government-run institutions are not only supposed to uphold the glory of folk heritage, but also support artistes who create this folk heritage.”
For Sami, honouring artistes posthumously is insignificant if they were not supported by the government when they were alive. “What is the point of glorifying an artiste once they are gone — having being abandoned in their hour of need?” questioned Sami. “The same happened with Allan Fakir, Mehdi Hassan and countless other stalwarts in the past. Now it is Begum Reshma. And then they ask why their [Pakistani] artistes leave their country! Does anyone want to be at their mercy? God bless Begum Reshma’s soul.”
Sami, who is saddened by the legendary folk singer’s death said, “May she rest in peace. I know she is in a better place today.”
Reshma recorded songs for both Pakistani and Indian movies. Some of her hit songs are Lambi Judaai, Mere Chan Pardesi, Dama Dam Mast Qalandar and Na Dil Dendi Bedardi Nu.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 8th, 2013.
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Pakistan is not a country for artistes
Pakistan is a country for non state actors.
Go away Adnan, nobody cares about you, neither Pakistanis nor Indians.
There are many Indian actors who have died miserably. Rajesh Khanna is one of those examples. It happens everywhere whenever the glorifying days are gone. Don't blame Pakistan of which you hold the Passport. If you have any issues with Pakistan, get the nationality of India and stay there forever. Otherwise you will have to live on Wagah Border as India wont accept you by heart ever.
@karachiwala: Why do you live in more delusion than before? Why do you stay happy with selective facts suitable to you that convinces yourself to be the righteous people? People in Pakistan still have time to come out of this idea of 'Muslims are butchered India and elsewhere'. Why am I saying this? Just because, not only Indian, but Pakistani and international newspaper show more Muslims killed everyday in Pakistan than anywhere in world today. They show more injustice towards minority. There is no Shia-Sunni fight in India and no Ahmedi out of rights. Jinnah separated 66 years ago with a dream but would have never thought that his country will become 'time stuck'. --ET print this for balanced opinion and fir commenting
Mr Adnan Sami ,Pakistan does produce talented artists and will keep doing so. Its another matter that you dont live in Pakistan but there is no need to bad mouth one country just because of the internal problems
Millions of Pakistanis are facing these challenges everyday bravely and we Indians also face such issues.
Guess What Mr. Sami.... you haven't seen amazing performances of Orya Maqbool and Ansar Abbasi recently....I am amazed at such a biased statement.
Come on Adnan Sami. It was Pakistan that provided you the platform and from here you were spotted by India. At least give that much credit to us.
@M. Emad: JINNAH's daughter also stayed in India.
@karachiwala: SO where do you think Shah Rukh, Amir, Saif, Salman, Katrina, A R Rehman etc. are living? On the road? In fact AMir just recently bought a luxury apartment and Shah Rukh lives in a palatial mansion. The url you attached proves the opposite of what you are trying to show. It shows that individual acts of bigotry will not be tolerated by the government.
Definitely in countries like Pakistan and India there ar areas where members of one community live and prefer that other communities not live there. But the question is, are such acts of bigotry tolerated or not? The answer is No in India.
Did you also notice that the ad did not say only Hindus wanted? In other words no objection to Christians, Parsis, Sikhs, Jains, atheists? Did you think about why that might be?
First of all, Adnan Sami holds Canadian nationality...he was born in UK and pledges allegiance to the QUeen. So how is he a Pakistani? He was never one of us to begin with so stop worrying about such foreigners and others such as Amir KHan and other foreigners.
At last Adnan Sami speaks the truth. He choose the country that was bombed by his father -- Pakistan Air Force Pilot Arshad Sami.
Artists in India don't need any help or any financial handouts because of their financial stability as compare to Pakistan. Case in point after their retirement Dalip Kumar, Devanand, Suriya, etc. and list keep going on have or were well establish. Singers like Mehdi Husain, Rehsma and other artists were not enough resources to take care medical or daily needs. it's sad that in Pakistan artists are not being honored as compare to India.
After three months where will you go Mr. Sami?
Pakistan is a country for islam and not for artists.
With your Hamd of 'Aye Khuda Aye Khuda' ... under your achievements, I'd be very polite. So, I guess this is how you think you'll be accepted in India. Bash Pakistan as much as possible? This country is in quite a mess. You can either live here and try to make a difference (effort matters, not the result) .. or quit which you did. So zip up ... under the nose I mean.
India isn't for pakis either. You will be deported.
What he is smoking ? Mehandi Hasan was financially supported by the Govt. All his medical finance was payed by Punjab Govt. In 1996, when Reshma was first diagnosed with early stage throat cancer, Shaukut Khannam hospital didn't charged her a single penny and its on the record. May be Adnan Sami needs to live in Pakistan more to know what's going on in Pakistan rather than reading crappy Indian newspapers.
"The 44-year-old, who is currently based in Mumbai, said angrily that Pakistan is not a country for artistes," +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ And ditto for non artists.
@Khan: i understand ur frustration at indians...... dats ok... not like it bothers us :p
When you are about to be thrown out of a country. You have to speak, and when its India, you have to speak against Pakistan. For each artist he named, he must have got a year more stay in there.
Check out Times of India news, where they say Adnan told to leave. How much 'respect' he gets, the comments would tell you.
Yes, Pakistan may not be a country for turncoat artists. The related stories about this article above says it all. One can still be successful in India without actually hating the native/other country. Take the example of Rahet fateh ali khan, Aatif Aslam, Ali zafar, Shafqat anamat ali and a lot more. Only people who have some inferiority complex or some kind of insecure feelings about the fame and fortune indulges in these type of rhetoric.
Another interesting link/article about the underground music scene in Pakistan.
http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/jul/01/pakistani-underground-punk-music-scene
Come of it... You just got an extension of visa, can be asked to leave India anytime, notwithstanding your praise for the country. The music industry in Pakistan is alive and kicking, just need to 'listen without prejudice'. There are more pop/rock/underground/duo/trio music bands in Pakistan than in India. Case in point is the coke studio Pakistan, which beats Indian version hands down. There are numerous music channels like MTV Pakistan, Nescafe Basement, play TV ARY music, Indus Music, 8XM, Oxygene, Zing, Music Station, VH1 Pakistan, B4U Music, K2, so on and so forth.
http://www.firstpost.com/living/why-pakistans-coke-studio-beats-indias-hollow-338177.html
Agree with every inch he has written. pakistan should have been bashed in even more annoying words
I am pretty sure, Indians loved Reshma more then Pakistanis did..Atleast Indians don;t lipsync or maybe they are not as big experts in lipsyncing like the Pakistanis.....The truth infact is that Indian Government under the leadership of Shri Vajpayee called up Mehndi Hassan to inquire about his health and offered free treatment at any Indian hospital for life...which Mr. Hassan being a gentle person turned down expecting their Pakistani government to help but to no avail..Pakistanis care for terrorists more then its music and little cultural heritage that is still left with them