From Madinah to Mumbai: Dubai resident collaborates with Bollywood singer Shaan

Khaleej Times

05-06-2025

Dubai-based poet Amaan Haider Zaidi is the lyricist of Shaan's debut Ghazal album which will be shared with music lovers across digital platforms on the auspicious day of Eid.
From reluctantly reciting his Urdu poems for his colleagues on the office bus in the UAE to launching his first ghazal album with celebrated Indian singer Shaan in Mumbai, the incredible turnaround in Amaan Haider Zaidi's life seems like the script of a timeless Bollywood classic.
Dubai-based poet Haider, who writes under the pen name Haider Amaan Haider, is the lyricist of Shaan's debut Ghazal album, Ghazal Ho Gayi, which was launched by Saregama, India's oldest music label, at the singer's Mumbai residence on May 4.
'The album has six ghazals and they will be released across digital platforms like YouTube and Spotify tomorrow (May 6),' Haider told the Khaleej Times over the phone from Mumbai.
Haider, who is now the head of corporate affairs at VFS Global in Dubai, only discovered his flair for poetry in 2014 after a personal setback.
'I was working for RAK Bank those days. Something happened in my life which hit me so hard that I had to get help from a psychiatrist. There were so many things that came to my mind during that phase and I began to jot down some of my thoughts,' he recalled.
Those thoughts soon translated into poetry that first resonated with his former RAK Bank colleagues before capturing the hearts of international cricketers, Indian diplomats in the UAE, acclaimed film director Shekhar Kapoor and Shaan, one of the finest singers in Bollywood music.
'It's amazing how I met Shaan. He came for the Dubai Expo where I was working at the Indian Pavilion. When I was introduced to him, I presented him a copy of my poetry book, Apni Amaan Main Rekhna,' Haider said.
About a year later, Shaan called him from Mumbai, asking his permission to take six of his poems from the book for a ghazal album.
'I could not believe Shaan wanted me to be his lyricist. He loved my poems. I think what appealed to him was the simplicity in my writing. You know, Shaan is a very big celebrity in India, but he is also a very simple human being. His voice has taken my poetry to a different level,' Haider said.
Having an album launched in Mumbai seems a bit surreal for the 44-year-old Haider, a late bloomer in the world of poetry.
'This is a dream for me. I cannot believe this is happening in my life. But if you ask my friends, I am still the same person who came from a very small village in Uttar Pradesh (India),' he said.
'I think it's all because of the prayers of my parents, my sisters and Allah's blessing.'
For a man who has captivated audiences at symposiums in the US, UK, Australia, Kuwait, India, Afghanistan and the UAE, Haider's first experience of reciting his poetry was at the Prohet's Mosque in Madinah.
'I will never forget that day. I was on a pilgrimage and there was an event for Prophet Muhammad's birthday (PBUH), so I got an opportunity to recite my poems,' he said.
'As I said, everything happens for a reason. Now Shaan has turned my poems into Ghazals for his first album in the genre. The six ghazals will be shared with music lovers across digital platforms on the auspicious day of Eid (Friday). It's a big blessing in my life.'