AR Rahman says ‘I never wished to cause pain’ on the ‘communal’ remark controversy

AR Rahman addressed backlash over his remarks on alleged communal bias in Bollywood, saying his words were misunderstood, reaffirming India as his inspiration and home, and stressing his commitment to music that uplifts, unites cultures and never intends to hurt sentiments

Mumbai: Music maestro A R Rahman has been facing a lot of backlash for his remark on ‘communal’ bias in the Hindi film industry.

Rahman, who has been subjected to a lot of criticism recently, has now used social media to share his side of the story. The Oscar-winning composer took to Instagram and uploaded a video sharing that India is not only his home, but also his inspiration and his teacher.

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He further stated that he never wanted to hurt anyone’s sentiments.

Rahman can be heard saying in the video, “Dear friends, music has always been my way of connecting, celebrating and honouring a culture. India is my inspiration, my teacher and my home. I understand that intentions can sometimes be misunderstood, but my purpose has always been to uplift, honour and serve through music. I have never wished to cause pain and I hope my sincerity is felt.”

He added that he feels blessed to be an Indian, which enables him to work in a space that allows freedom of expression and celebrates multicultural voices. Reflecting on his journey, which according to him has also strenghen his purpose, the singer and composer added, “From nurturing Jala presented at the Wave Summit in front of the Honourable Prime Minister and Ruhi Noor, to collaborating with the young Naga musicians, to create a string orchestra, to mentoring the Sunshine Orchestra, also building Secret Mountain, India’s first multicultural virtual band and the honour of scoring Ramayana alongside Hans Zimmer, each journey has strengthened my purpose.”

Towards the end of the clip, he expressed his gratitude to India and also reiterated his commitment to music that “honours the past, celebrates the present and inspires the future.” During a recent interaction with BBC Asian Network, Rahman spoke about getting limited work offers in Bollywood.

He said, “People who are not creative have the power now to decide things, and this might have been a communal thing also, but not in my face. It comes to me as Chinese whispers that they booked you, but the music company went ahead and hired their five composers. I said, ‘Oh, that’s great, rest for me, I can chill out with my family.”