AR Rahman addresses his ‘communal’ remark: Never wished to cause pain, hope my sincerity is felt

Noted music composer AR Rahman shared a video post on his social media on Sunday, addressing the backlash following his comments in one of the recent interviews and said the intentions can “sometimes be misunderstood,” but he didn’t wish to cause any pain with his words.

Rahman, known for his music in films such as Roja, Bombay and Dil Se.. among others, shared a post on his Instagram handle, in which he explained the same. The 59-year-old composer said music has always been “the way to connect, celebrate and honour India’s 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 said in the video.

“I feel blessed to be Indian, which enables me to create a space which always allows freedom of expression and celebrates multicultural voices. From nurturing Jhalaa, presented at the WAVES summit in front of the honourable Prime Minister and Rooh-e-Noor, to collaborating with the young Naga musicians, to creating 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,” he added.

His comments come days after his interview with BBC Asian Network, during which he noted how less work has been coming to him due to a power shift within the Hindi film industry in recent years and said it could also be due to the “communal thing”.

“I’m not in search of work. I want work to come to me; the sincerity of my work to earn things. I feel it’s a jinx when I go on in search of things… 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,” he said in the interview.