The anthology film My Melbourne, directed by Indian filmmakers Onir, Rima Das, Imtiaz Ali, and Kabir Khan, marks Afghan pop sensation Aryana Sayeed’s Hindi debut as a singer. She lent her voice to the song Rukna Nahi in the film. (Also Read: Wanted to celebrate immigrants and refugees in ‘My Melbourne’: Kabir Khan)
In an exclusive conversation with Hindustan Times, Aryana Sayeed talked about being a part of the project, singing her soulful melody, and also revealed the Indian artiste she wishes to collaborate with.
Aryana’s tough journey as a singer
Aryana revealed that she had been a music lover since childhood. Talking about her journey as a singer, she added, “Even when I was in Afghanistan during my childhood, I was the entertainer of the family. Then I came out of Afghanistan at eight years old, and we settled in Europe. I used to go to school there, and when I became a teenager at the age of 13, music ended up being my favourite class in school. I realized I wanted to take it more seriously. So I used to sing with a choir. But then, it wasn’t for long because my family stopped me from singing when they realized that I wanted to pursue it as a career. Obviously, because of the impact or negative side of the culture in Afghanistan, where they look down upon female singers and how singing is not something for women. But years later, as an adult living in London, I realized that I still had a lot of passion for singing, and so I made up my mind that that’s what I wanna become and fought with my family. They realized that I have a God-given voice.”
She recalled the battle she had to fight to convince her parents to pursue a career in singing and added, “When you come from India, the hub for music. I feel like there’s music in the veins of Indian people, and you guys are so lucky. In Afghanistan, you basically have to fight a battle with your family and everybody in your life, especially for women, not for men, because they are allowed to do anything they want. But for women, everything is difficult—now forget about singing and performing on stage. So, I had to basically fight for my dreams and prove to myself that I’d do it the right way. Because my family was worried about the things they had previously heard about female singers. According to Afghans, female singers are low in character, and they’ll lose themselves, hang with bad people, and become a druggie or alcoholic. This became a mission for me to prove to my family that I won’t go down the wrong path. It eventually came to a point where my family became my biggest fan.”
Aryana on being a part of My Melbourne
Talking about being a part of My Melbourne, Aryana said, “It was an amazing experience. I feel very honoured and privileged to be able to make my debut in Bollywood with such an amazing song and project, My Melbourne, which has real-life stories. And then one of them being about this Afghan girl and her dreams and how she fights for her dreams. It’s something very inspiring. This topic is very close to my heart. I have been working as an activist for a long time. I could totally relate to the lyrics of the song. I loved it instantly. Kabir Khan being the director of the movie—he is someone I really admire and respect. So everything made sense.”
Being a fan of Bollywood music, Aryana revealed that it wasn’t hard for her to get a grip on the Hindi lyrics and added, “It took me no time to learn the Hindi lyrics. I do speak a bit of Hindi because I have been watching Bollywood movies and listening to music since childhood. So I understand everything, and I can also sing a little bit. I was just worried about the accent—hopefully, I don’t have an accent—but later on, I heard from everyone that you don’t have an accent and sing so beautifully. They gave me more confidence. Now I think I should do more Bollywood songs.”
Aryana wishes to collaborate with Diljit Dosanjh
When asked which Indian artiste she’d like to collaborate with, Aryana said, “Nowadays, I really love this amazing Punjabi singer that you guys have, Diljit Dosanjh. He is my absolute favourite. If I had the opportunity to sing with him, it would be so amazing because he is so cool, his lyrics, his music—he’s like a breath of fresh air to Indian and Punjabi music, and I absolutely love his songs.”
