Afghani singer Aryana Sayeed talks about her Bollywood debut in My Melbourne and expresses her wish to work with Diljit Dosanjh

She shared that her musical journey began at a very young age, and as she grew older, she became more committed to her craft.

My Melbourne, the anthology film, directed by renowned Indian filmmakers Onir, Rima Das, Imtiaz Ali, and Kabir Khan, marked the Hindi singing debut of Afghan pop iconAryana Sayeed.

She has lent her voice to the song Rukna Nahi in the film.

In a conversation with Hindustan Times, Aryana expressed her deep passion for singing and revealed her desire to collaborate with Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh.

She shared that her musical journey began at a very young age, and as she grew older, she became more committed to her craft.

However, she faced significant challenges, as her family did not fully support her pursuit of music.

According to Aryana, societal norms in Afghan culture often discourage and look down upon female singers, making her path to success even more difficult.

"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 wanted to become and fought with my family. They realized that I have a God-given voice," Aryana said.

Aryana further reflected on the struggles she faced in convincing her family to allow her to pursue music. She remarked that unlike India, which she described as a hub for music where it seems ingrained in people's very being, Afghanistan presented a far greater challenge.

She explained that in her country, women had to fight battles with their families and society to follow their passion, whereas men faced no such restrictions and were free to do as they pleased.

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She also mentioned that she would love to collaborate with Diljit Dosanjh and stated, "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."

A fan of Bollywood music, Aryana shared that she also found it easy to grasp the Hindi lyrics. She mentioned that learning them required little effort since she had been watching Bollywood films and listening to Hindi songs since childhood, which also helped her pick up the language to some extent.