Adnan Sami's Lift Karadey is remembered as one of his most popular and fun songs, but the track once faced near-rejection from the music label. Sami recalled that the song received almost no support initially because the label didn't think it'd succeed and called it “down market.”
After the success of Kabhi Toh Nazar Milao and Barsaat, the producer wanted Sami to make another romantic song. Instead, he suggested Lift Karadey, something different from his earlier hits. The idea didn't impress the label, and they felt the song was too simple. The disagreement continued for nearly six months and the label refused to spend money on its music video
Sami and his team then took matters into their own hands and shot the video on the streets of Bombay without a budget or permission.
Speaking with Komal Nahata, Adnan Sami explained, “Lift Karadey was the song that literally broke me into the masses. That's when my song was being played everywhere and then it became like an anthem and so that changed everything.”
“The funny part is that the label at that point was dead against releasing that song. They didn't believe in it. Their reason was that two songs had already come out which were romantic songs, Kabhi to Nazar Milao and Barsaat.”
“When they came to the third song, they asked which song should I do. I said Lift Karadey. They said ‘What are you talking about? Where is Barsaat and where is Kabhi to Nazar Milao, Lift Karadey is so down market. You have a very sophisticated image'.”
“First of all, I think this song has a lot of potential. Secondly, I don't want to be stuck in any genre. I don't want to be trapped.' I wanted to perform all kinds of songs. It's time for me to break that mold, to stop people from just labelling me a one type singer. I want them to see that I can do this too.”
Adnan Sami explained that he wanted to try something different with his third song instead of repeating the same style. Sami said he stood with his idea for almost six months, even though the music label was not convinced.
They filmed Lift Karadey on the streets of Bombay early in the morning without permission. The team quickly shot a few dance steps at one location and then moved to another before anyone noticed.
Adnan recalled that the music label had very little confidence at first. But when the song became a huge hit, the same team returned to him with the idea of making a remix.
Adnan Sami agreed but wanted the remix to be different from the usual versions. He turned it into a fun video featuring well known actors Shatrughan Sinha, Asrani and Johnny Lever. This time, the makers spent a lot of money on the project.
