A video of music composer AR Rahman asking his wife to speak in Tamil instead of Hindi at the Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards 2022 which took place on March 30 in Chennai is viral on social media. Rahman was receiving the award for the ‘Best Playback Singer 2022’ for his song Marakkuma Nenjam from the movie Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu. While accepting the award, he thanked his wife Saira Banu and said that she was a huge fan of his voice. He later invited her to the stage and handed the trophy to her. When the anchors of the award show gave Saira a mic, AR Rahman is seen quipping to his wife, “Hindi la pesatheenga, Tamil la pesunga please” which translates to “Don’t speak in Hindi, please speak in Tamil.” This statement received loud cheers and applause from the audience.
Saira Banu is seen laughing off his quip and goes on to speak in English instead before apologising to say that she does not speak Tamil fluently. The entire exchange that lasts a few minutes appears to have been a playful conversation on stage in which Rahman is playfully asking his wife to speak in Tamil, which she cannot do fluently. However, right-wing news sites such as Op India have reacted to what AR Rahman said and have criticised him. Several on social media, also seem to have taken to criticising Rahman for the incident.
However, in the past, the Oscar winning music composer has taken a stance against Hindi being used during Tamil award ceremonies and press conferences. In 2021, while addressing the media before the release of his movie 99 Songs, an anchor who initially spoke in Tamil switched to Hindi to welcome Rahman and the lead of the movie Ehan Bhat. As soon as the anchor switched, Rahman playfully asked, “Hindi?!” before walking off the stage. He further jokingly said, “I asked you earlier if you speak Tamil. The anchor replied to this in Tamil saying, “I was speaking in Tamil and simply welcomed him [Ehan Bhat] in Hindi.” She also apologised jokingly and asked him to not be upset with her.