Days after AR Rahman’s clarification video on ‘communal’ remark, composer says, ‘When you explain, they won’t listen to you’

AR Rahman has finally opened up on the video in which he explained his intentions and spelled out his achievements for India in a bid to clarify his earlier remarks that the Hindi film industry has seemingly turned "communal" in recent years.

3 min readChennaiFeb 5, 2026 09:10 AM IST

AR Rahman opens up on his explanation video.

AR Rahman’s remark where he hinted about the ‘communal’ nature of the Hindi film industry created quite a stir and days after his comments, he issued a clarification. Recently, the composer was asked about this episode and suggested that he had moved on from this chapter.

“See, in life you have to prepare. And we have to prepare for everything,” he said cryptically when asked why he put out that video to explain himself. He then smiled and insisted to move on the conversation to something else because “we all know”. But when the host of the YouTube podcast Noise and Grains went on and said it was “a little sad” for Rahman’s admirers to see him read out his own Wikipedia in that video message in order to spell out his achievements for the country, Rahman said, “But you know what, it’s better we move on with something else because people who know you don’t need an explanation. And when you explain, they won’t listen to you, those who don’t…” he added with a helpless chuckle.

Last month, in an interview with BBC Asian Network, the Oscar-winning composer said he had been getting lesser work in the film industry and said, “Maybe I never get to know of this, maybe it was concealed but I didn’t feel any of this. Maybe in the past eight years because a power shift has happened and people who are not creative have the power now. It might be a communal thing also… but it is not in my face. It comes to me as Chinese whispers that they booked you but the music company went ahead and hired their 5 composers. I say good, I have more time to chill with my family. I am not in search for work. I don’t want to go in search for work. I want work to come to me; my sincerity to earn work. Whatever I deserve, I get.”

Days after that, Rahman shared a video on his social media, addressing the backlash following his comments and said the intentions can “sometimes be misunderstood,” but he didn’t wish to cause any pain with his words. He then called India his “inspiration” and his purpose to “uplift, honour, and serve through music”.

Also Read — Neha Dhupia says she has great friendships in film industry because she doesn’t exploit them for work: ‘Karan Johar cast me because he was fed up of my voice’

“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,” added Rahman.

Rahman is all set to bring his Wonderment Tour to his home turf of Chennai next week on the occasion of Valentine’s Day.

Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.