A file image of music director AR Rahman. | Photo courtesy: PTI
Renowned composer AR Rahman says he is getting less work, and the reason for this is the shift in power within the Hindi film industry over the last eight years and perhaps also “communal talk”, though it is not in his control.
The Oscar winner explained that it comes to him as a “Chinese whisper” BBC Asian Network in an interview.
He said, “I am not looking for work. I want work to come to me; the sincerity of my work is to earn things. When I go out looking for things I think it is a nonsense.”
Asked if he faced any prejudice when he started out in the Hindi film industry in the 1990s, Rahman said, “Maybe I didn’t realize all these things. Maybe God hid all these things. But for me, I never felt any of this, but in the last eight years, maybe, because there has been a change of power.”
He said, “People who are not creative have the power to decide things, and it may also be a communal thing, but not in front of me. It comes to me as Chinese whispers that they booked you, but the music company went ahead and hired five of their musicians. I said, ‘Oh, that’s great, relax for me, I can relax with my family.’
The 59-year-old said he was the first musician from the South to enter the Hindi film industry and stay there.
“This is a completely new culture, there were no other South Indian composers till then. Mr. Ilaiyaraaja had done a few films, but they were not mainstream films. So for me to come across him and for him to embrace me was a hugely rewarding experience.”
Rahman said that his music became popular for Mani Ratnam’s classics “Roja” (1992), “Bombay” (1995) and “Dil Se…” (1998), but he credits Subhash Ghai’s 1999 musical hit “Taal” for making him a household name in North India.
“I was still an outsider with these three (films), but ‘Taal’ became famous in every household, like it entered everyone’s home kitchen. Even now, most North Indians have it in their blood because it has a little bit of Punjabi Hindi and Pahari music in it.” He also remembers the advice once given to him by Ghai.
“I never spoke Hindi, and it was difficult for a Tamil person to learn Hindi because we love Tamil so much. But then Subhash Ghai said, ‘I like your music but I want you to stay longer. So you should learn Hindi.’
He said, “I said, ‘Okay let me learn Hindi. And I will go one step further. I will learn Urdu, which is the mother of Hindi music of the 60s and 70s.'”
Rahman said that as an artiste, he tries to avoid films that are “made with bad intentions”.
The interviewer then asked him about his association with “divisive” films like Vicky Kaushal starrer “Chhaava”.
“It’s divisive. I think it tapped into divisive sentiment, but I think the core purpose of it is to show bravery… I said to the director, ‘Why do you need me for this?’ He said that for this we only need you. I think it was an enjoyable finale.
He said, “But I definitely think people are smarter than that. Do you think people will be influenced by films? They have something called an inner conscience that knows what is truth and what is manipulation.”
The film, based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, son of Maratha Empire founder Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who was tortured and executed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, faced polarized reactions upon its release in February 2025 with many claiming it distorted history.
However, it performed exceptionally well at the box office and grossed approximately ₹700 crore during its theatrical run.
published – January 15, 2026 at 10:00 pm IST