Inside Desi Bling: Adel and Sana Sajan on love, marriage and why their Netflix fame wasn’t staged or faked

Dubai: The hit Netflix reality show Desi Bling was supposed to be about Dubai's fabulously wealthy desis, a slang term many South Asians use to describe themselves. And it is. There's enough bling, bravado and billionaire energy to power a small country.

But somewhere between the flamboyant designer outfits, private parties and dinner-table drama, viewers found themselves rooting for a couple who weren't fighting, feuding or flexing quite as hard.

Enter Adel and Sana Sajan from Danube: the unexpected heart of the show.

While most players in that show were pre-occupied by posh-people/first-world problems, Sana was quietly recovering from cancer. And while reality tv notoriously rewards chaos, confrontation and catty one-liners, the Sajans did something far more difficult: they remained unapologetically themselves.

“Generally, we are very sorted, so we didn't really have many problems to discuss about diamonds or bags or anything else,” says Sana. “So, yes, there was a very, very real issue at that time — that I had been diagnosed [with cancer].”

Just one week before filming began, Sana had undergone surgery.

“Then we took the decision that I am okay with talking about it, because the problem is already over,” she says. “But there was a little emotional aspect to it, which I was still dealing with. And then I took the courage of discussing it.” She even spoke openly about how staying away from her three children during treatment took the biggest toll on her.

It was arguably one of the most authentic moments in a show built on aspiration, excess, and petty fights among who-drives-a-swankier-Rolls Royce coterie.

“Cancer is one disease that shines on everyone equally and we didn't want to shy away from being authentic,” says Sana.

For Adel, sharing that story was never about sympathy.

“Life also is real for everyone. Everybody has issues,” he says.

“Cancer is something in today's day and age many people are going through. Few people want to talk about it, a few people don't. But what happens is, when you talk about a genuine issue like this, it becomes relatable, and maybe somebody else who's also fighting or going through a dark time can also get some little bit of comfort.”

It is perhaps this perspective that made the couple stand out so sharply against the show's glitzy backdrop. The irony, they claim, is that neither of them set out to become fan favourites.

“No, we are always like this, always,” says Adel when I point out how gracefully they navigated the show. “I think the way we were at the show is how we are also in our real life.”

“Yeah, so we were just being ourselves,” adds Sana. And that authenticity wasn't manufactured for Netflix.

I've known the couple for years and even attended their spectacular cruise wedding nearly a decade ago. It was equal parts romance and extravagance. At one point, Adel famously crawled under Sana's illuminated bridal skirt because the lights weren't working properly.

“The groom or the electrician?” I remember wondering.

Ten years later, not much has changed.

“We have three products of the wedding,” jokes Adel about their children.

The affection between them remains unmistakable throughout our conversation.

“She looks the same like she looked 20 years ago,” Adel says at one point.

“I love you too,” Sana shoots back. Honestly, it was almost sickeningly adorable.

Perhaps that's why viewers connected with them.

Reality television has conditioned us to expect dysfunction. Usually, if a couple appears too happy, we wait for the scandal, the betrayal or the dramatic reveal.

The Sajans stubbornly refused to cooperate.

In fact, Adel says he warned producers before signing up.

“I told Mazen [Laham, Desi Bling upfront], our life is very non-dramatic,” he recalls.

“There's a lot going on. I wouldn't say ordinary. There's nothing ordinary about our life, but there's no drama.”

“I said, this is who we are. If you're okay with that, great.”

Thankfully, the producers were. Interestingly, Adel may have played a role in bringing Desi Bling to life in the first place.

Having met producer Mazen during his stint as a guest judge on Shark Tank Dubai, Adel floated an idea.

“I told him, there's so many affluent Indians living in Dubai. Approximately forty per cent of the UAE's population is Indian. Why don't you have a show focused on affluent Indians living in this part of the region?”

A few months later, the concept became reality. But despite appearing on a reality show, both insist there was absolutely no script.

“We did not know what moment is being captured,” says Sana. “Initially, when there is a camera, you're a little conscious, but when it's there the whole time, you actually forget and you're just being yourself.” They claim they saw the show when it premiered on Netflix, just like everybody else.

Adel explains why.

“Zero script was handed to us! You have an event, and now you're in that event for three hours, and you're just talking, talking, talking,” he says. “Three hours. There's only like five minutes or ten minutes shown from the three hours of everyone.”

“It's not like, 'Okay Adil, you say this and Sana, you say this.' It's very natural. It's very organic.”

Another conscious decision involved their children.

“For us, the only thing is we don't want to highlight our kids too much,” says Adel.

Sana agrees.

“I don't know when they grow up whether they'll be very happy to be on camera. So I wanted to respect their privacy.”

While viewers watched cast members spar over friendships and relationships, the Sajans often found themselves playing peacemakers. She's famously labelled as 'Godmother'.

“Whenever somebody has a problem, they'll call Sana,” says Adel.

“Life is too short for problems,” she replies.

The show's relationship drama also sparked one of Adel's strongest opinions.

Reflecting on conversations about marriage and divorce featured in the series, he reveals a surprisingly old-school philosophy. He was one of the few men who felt the flamboyant businessman Dyuti Parruck and Iryna Kinakh shouldn't split.

“If you have a business that's not working, what are you going to do? Just shut it down?” he asks.

“No. You're going to do everything possible to make it work.”

“Business comes and goes. Your family after kids is way more important.”

“So if I have a failed marriage or something is going wrong, I'm not going to give it up so easily.”

“I will do whatever I can in my power, either go for date nights, go for counselling, go for I don't know what is needed at that particular point to try.”

In a reality-TV landscape littered with breakups and public feuds, it felt refreshingly sensible.

Asked what he has learned from nearly a decade of marriage, Adel doesn't hesitate.

“I've scored big time in getting a wife like Sana.”

“My work is demanding. My lifestyle is demanding. There are so many events, so many people to meet. You have so much stress at work. The last thing you want is extra stress at home.”

Then comes the line that should probably be printed on a T-shirt.

“My four favourite words are: happy wife, happy life.”

Sana laughs.

“He never leaves any stone unturned to keep me happy.”

The success of Desi Bling has changed their lives in unexpected ways.

Shortly after the show premiered, they travelled to London.

“Every single day, minimum 25 to 30 people,” recalls Adel of being recognised.

“It was not just Indians.”

“And even Saudis,” Sana adds.

“We have more fans, I would say,” she says. “Visibility, yes. It has definitely increased our audience and outreach to people, which is very beautiful.”

Despite the mixed reviews, neither seems fazed.

“When we get time, we do read the reviews,” says Sana.

“I feel like if you put yourself out there in the media, people will have mixed opinions, and honestly, I love it when people have different kinds of opinions.”

Adel has an even simpler summary.

“Hate or love, people are watching.”

And perhaps that's the biggest surprise of Desi Bling.

The diamonds sparkled. The outfits dazzled. The drama delivered.

But the Sajans reminded viewers that sometimes the most powerful flex isn't wealth.

It's perspective. And will there be a season 2?

"Well, you will have to wait! Our lips are sealed."