No communal bias in Bollywood, says Javed Akhtar amid AR Rahman ‘power shift’ comment

Rahman says people who are not creative have the power now to decide things; hints at possible communal angle

Mumbai: After AR Rahman recently spoke about work from the Hindi film industry slowing down for him, attributing it to changing power dynamics over the past few years and hinting at a possible ‘communal thing’, veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar has firmly ruled out any such angle.

Sharing his perspective, Akhtar said he has never experienced this sentiment in Mumbai and stressed that Rahman continues to command immense respect across the industry. “I have never felt this way. I meet people here in Mumbai. They have great respect for him,” Akhtar told IANS.

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He added that many may assume the composer is largely unavailable due to his packed international schedule and large-scale shows, which demand significant time and commitment.

“People may think that he has become very busy in the West. They may think that his shows are very big. He spends a lot of time in those shows. So, he may not be available for us.”

Akhtar also pointed out that Rahman’s stature is so towering that even small producers often hesitate to approach him. He said, “Rahman is such a big man. Even a small producer is afraid to go to him.”

Dismissing the idea of any communal element, Akhtar said that Rahman remains approachable and said if reached out to, the composer would certainly respond. ” But I don’t think there is any communal element in this. Why don’t you see him? He will definitely come,” he said.

Rahman, in an interview to BBC Asian Network, had said the reasons often reach him indirectly and tagged it as “Chinese whispers”. He went on to say in the interview: “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.”