Adnan Sami faces backlash for his reply to AP CM Jagan’s tweet on Naatu Naatu’s Golden Globes win

The musician stirred up a hornet’s nest by claiming one shouldn’t prioritise regional identity over national pride

Adnan Sami and AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy

What would you choose between your cultural identity and nation? What would you identify with, on a subconscious level? A controversy has erupted with singer Adnan Sami expressing his displeasure over AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy’s congratulatory tweet on RRR team’s win at the Golden Globe Awards for Naatu Naatu. The AP CM, on Wednesday, had tweeted, “The #Telugu flag is flying high! On behalf of all of #AndhraPradesh, I congratulate @mmkeeravaani, @ssrajamouli, @tarak9999, @AlwaysRamCharan and the entire team of @RRRMovie. We are incredibly proud of you! #GoldenGlobes2023”

Asking the politician what he meant by the Telugu flag, Adnan Sami responded, “Telugu flag? You mean INDIAN flag right? We are Indians first & so kindly stop separating yourself from the rest of the country…Especially internationally, we are one country! This ‘separatist’ attitude is highly unhealthy as we saw in 1947!!! Thank you…Jai HIND!” Netizens and the team from AP CM Jagan’s office didn’t take this comment lightly and cleared the air about the ‘Telugu flag’ phrase in a series of tweets. Many pointed out to him that he didn’t take the tweet in the right spirit.

“Pls refrain from making unnecessarily provocative statements @AdnanSamiLive- Hon’ble CM @ysjagan tweeted in happiness since most of main ppl related to #RRRMovie r Telugu. Does not preclude our love for India above all else - you don’t need to teach us patriotism !!” S Rajiv Krishna, advisor to AP Govt wrote. The social media banter didn’t look like ending anytime soon. Adnan Sami replied to S Rajiv Krishna that while they needn’t be schooled about patriotism, the AP minister had to understand statesmanship better. The musician felt ‘Telugu Cinema has made all of India Proud’ would’ve been an ideal response for Naatu Naatu’s win.

Most of his tweets, justifying his anger, received backlash from several corners and said Sami got confused by comparing one’s reverence towards their roots with separatism. Sami was in turn questioned about his nationality too. He further mentioned how Satyajit Ray’s Honorary Oscar in 1991 isn’t Bengali pride alone but a matter of national pride. Earlier today, when Rajnikanth congratulated team RRR for the award and posted, “THANK YOU Keeravani and Rajamouli for making us proud and bringing home the Golden Globe for Indian cinema,” Adnan Sami called it ‘the perfect congratulations’

Prominent journalist, film producer perhaps came with a fitting response to summarise the intent behind AP CM Jagan’s tweet, telling why he disagreed with Adnan Sami. “I can’t be a true Indian unless I am a true Bengali first. Therein lies my cultural roots, my identity, my being. When a Telugu film is honoured, India’s honoured. @ysjagan is right. There’s no India without our regional identities. They make us who we are.” For the uninitiated, Naatu Naatu, the song from SS Rajamouli-directed RRR, was sung by Rahul Sipligunj, Kaala Bhairava, choreographed by Prem Rakshith and composed by MM Keeravaani.

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