Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman has stated that his work in the Hindi film industry has slowed down in recent years, which he attributes to a shift in power dynamics over the last eight years and, possibly, to a subtle communal bias that he does not directly encounter.
Speaking to the BBC Asian Network on whether there is prejudice in the Hindi film industry against people from the Tamil community or those outside Maharashtra when he began his career in the 1990s, Rahman said he did not feel it at the time.
However, he suggested that systemic shifts may influence decisions. “Maybe God concealed all this stuff. For me, I never felt any of those. Maybe I never get to know of this, maybe it was concealed. I didn’t feel any of this earlier. Maybe in the past eight years, because the power shift has happened. People who are not creative have the power to decide things now,” he said.
Rahman said the change has not been overt, but is conveyed indirectly. “It 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,” he said.
Rahman said he does not actively seek work and prefers that opportunities come to him organically. “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,” he said, adding that he views reduced work as an opportunity to spend more time with his family.
The 59-year-old composer noted that he was among the first music composers from South India to successfully establish himself in mainstream Hindi cinema. “It’s a whole new culture. No other South Indian composer till then,” he said, adding that while Ilaiyaraaja had worked in Hindi films earlier, those projects were not part of the mainstream. “For me to cross and them embracing me was a hugely rewarding experience.”
Rahman recalled that while his music for Mani Ratnam’s films such as Roja (1992), Bombay (1995) and Dil Se.. (1998) gained popularity, it was Subhash Ghai’s Taal (1999) that made him a household name in north India. “I was still an outsider with these three films, but Taal became famous in every household. It entered the kitchen of everybody’s house,” he said.
He also spoke about the advice he received from Subhash, who encouraged him to learn Hindi to sustain a longer career in the industry. “I never spoke Hindi, and it was difficult for a Tamil person to learn Hindi because we have such an attachment to Tamil,” Rahman said, adding that he decided to go further and learn Urdu, which he described as “the mother of Hindi music of the 60s and 70s.”
In the same interview, Rahman also addressed his earlier remarks about composing music for Chhaava, a film that faced criticism for its divisive undertones. He acknowledged the criticism, saying, “It is a divisive film. I think it capitalised on divisiveness,” but added that the film also attempted to portray bravery. “Do you really think people get influenced by films so easily? They have an internal conscience that tells them what truth and what manipulation is,” he said.