Actor-composer Azaan Sami Khan on why he returns to Dubai over and over again
Azaan Sami Khan is no stranger to criticism. In an industry where aesthetics are key, his credentials as an actor were challenged because of who his parents were: actor and musician Adnan Sami Khan is Azaan's father and noted Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiar is his mother.
Azaan began writing and composing music at a very young age; his first official project was for the action film 021. He also provided music for Hamza Ali Abbasi and Hania Aamir's film Parwaaz Hai Junoon and later, Mahira Khan's Superstar. His musical projects also included Sheheryar Munawar and Maya Ali's hit film Parey Hut Love. His next foray was into acting; he appeared opposite Sajal Ali and Yumna Zaidi in Hum TV Network's show Ishq e Laa.
City Times sat down with Azaan to talk about his upcoming ventures and how he learnt to take criticism on the chin and used it to help him improve.
'There's two sides to this,' he says with clarity, 'I've created a separation between Azaan Sami Khan and Azaan. You don't criticise me because you don't know me. You criticise the person on the screen. I don't take it personally. People who know me, people who are friends with me, or if you and I become friends tomorrow, you can tell me, 'hey this is wrong with you', and that's a different story. The criticism allows me to grow. I think my critics (not the ones who simply dismiss me over something trivial) are my well-wishers. I've worked on myself over two years and I've improved and it has benefited me in the long run.'
Weighty issues
Azaan delves deep into his initial experiences on television and what it was like to try and make a mark in an industry that heavily relies on how you appear to be. 'I was an overweight child. I was overweight until I was 21,' he explains frankly. 'I wasn't happy with who I was. I know people who are under-weight or overweight, but are happy with the way they are. I wasn't. It [showbiz] is a profession that is very aesthetic. When I did my first show, I was 115kg and all I could think of was how overweight I was. It was very traumatic, because all I wanted to do was act but the entire focus became on finding angles where I could look thinner. I had imposter syndrome and I promised myself that I won't do any other gig until I have sorted this out. I was too busy being in that headspace of shame. Everyone was nice to me, but it was just the reality of the job that kept hitting me. But what was very interesting was that when I lost the weight, I still got criticism that I'm too thin,' he says, adding that it made him decide to not allow others to pass judgement on his weight. 'I told myself I can't get sucked into this because I feel good, I'm healthy for my family and my loved ones, and that's what matters.'
He took the nepotism debate head on and spoke about a different side of what it was like to be the son of two prominent personalities in the industry. 'Everybody equates nepotism with opportunity,' says the Meri Tanhai actor. 'And I think that's the absolute surface. When you've seen cycle after cycle since you were born, people and their careers rising and falling...I've seen my parents and my friends see the highest of highest and the lows of lows. People forget that I started working when I was very, very young. And that has inoculated me to failure and success and their cycles. People say I'm humble and I say, 'no, I'm not I've just seen these stories'. And I can sift through genuine feedback and not-so-genuine feedback.'
Azaan was working on three shows at one point last year. He was in Bee Gul's Hum Dono opposite Kinza Hashmi; in Ae Dil with Komal Meer; and in Meri Tanhai, opposite Kubra Khan, which was shot in London.
'What is over-exposure?'
However, over-exposure isn't something that worries him at all. 'Is Timothee Chalamet over-exposed?' he laughs. 'Shah Rukh Khan had three films come out within a span of a year. If you make good work, that's what matters. Over-exposure is irrelevant if you're doing good work. I want to keep working and if I get good projects, I'm going to do them. I learnt this from music: you learn by doing. I have Ghalat Fehmi or Ik Lamha in my catalogue, but there are 50 other songs you probably haven't even heard. And it is because of those songs that you have heard the hits.
'Ed Sheeran is one of my ultimate icons and he said, 'writing songs is like opening a tap, you get dirty water first and then you get the clean, clear water'. I wanted to be on set day in and day out, to get the basic hesitation out of the system and get into my comfort zone, by doing the work. I have been born in this world, I love it so much. Even when I'm on holiday I miss my work. By the third day, I'm like okay the sea is very pretty, but that's enough, I'd like to go back to work!'
Azaan is in the UAE a lot but his recent trip brought him to the country for something special. 'Dubai is a great place for connecting. There are different ventures that we're collaborating on in the UAE,' he says. 'There is a certain project that is very close to my heart. It's a sentimental project and we're working on the script in the UAE and we're hoping for a 2026 release. It's a heavily musical and nostalgic project.
'I lived a lot of my life in India and it's the perfect hub for everyone to meet. I love how easy and hassle-free Dubai is. From the moment you land at the airport, it's all so smooth. They have designed it to be easy and free of red-tape. I do think I would want to partially live here at some point in my life.'
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The influences are universal rhythms, timeless truths, and a yearning for connection. Every line I draw, every layer I build, is an echo of that journey — a way to bridge the infinite and the intimate. The Search Within — Red 2. Does Rumi or other Sufis play a role in your art? Rumi deeply resonates with me, as does Ibn Arabi and other Sufi mystics. Their words aren't mere poetry — they are openings, reminders, living teachings. The Sufi idea that the Almighty is not out there but in here — within every cell and in every breath — is the same current I try to touch in my work. What is the message of your works? If I had to distill it into one word, the message would be: 'Remember'. My work invites viewers to remember who they are beneath identity, conditioning, and distraction. It is a gentle nudge back to the sacred link that we all carry within us, a call to reconnect with the inner compass we often silence. 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It's primal and spiritual at once — the colour of roots and also of awakening. I didn't choose red; it chose me. In the 'Red Edition', this colour acts as a mirror for all that we often suppress: desire, urgency, boldness, even action. It is the colour of the heart, of courage and also vulnerability. It brings with it not just energy, but a kind of sacred heat. Red is not a departure from my earlier works — it is a deepening. Abda Fayyaz looks out into the world. The calligraphy in your works do not belong to any particular school. Is this so? My calligraphy is untethered from any formal tradition. I'm drawn to the 'gesture' of writing rather than the message itself. My scripts are closer to breathing or chanting than to writing. I'm not trying to be read — I'm trying to be felt. In that way, the calligraphy becomes an extension of my deeper philosophy: that truth doesn't have to be explained to be understood. These cave like calligraphy elements speak to something older than language — something ancestral, intuitive, and timeless. Can you tell us how you are evolving as an artist? In the past, I might have sought validation or clarity before beginning a piece. Now, I allow myself to start without knowing where I'll end. That shift — from control to surrender — has been the most significant part of my evolution. I no longer seek perfection; I seek truth.
