AR Rahman clarifies his Oscar speech: ‘Some people misinterpreted that statement over some religion, which is not true’

He was called on the stage for the second time, to receive the award he shared with Gulzar for the song “Jai Ho.” In the video, he said, “The second time when they announced my name for the best song, I had said in the speech that the essence of the film is optimism and hope, because the world was going through that economic depression, and Slumdog Millionaire was done in a way that anybody who sees it would feel high.”

Check out AR Rahman’s video –

A.R. Rahman (@arrahman) reflects on winning the Oscar for Best Original Song and Score for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ at the 81st #Oscars. pic.twitter.com/Hry5GmTBzK

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 2, 2023

In his speech, Rahman had said, “All my life, I had a choice of hate and love. I chose love and I’m here. God Bless.” Remembering that moment, Rahman said in the video, “Some people have misinterpreted that statement over some religion and this and that, which is not true. This is the state of every artist in the world and that’s what makes them the artist. They want to give and love is about giving, not taking.”

India is once again in contention at the upcoming Academy Awards. Filmmaker SS Rajamouli’s RRR is nominated in the Best Original Song category for its popular track “Naatu Naatu,” the documentary The Elephant Whisperers in nominated in the Best Documentary Short Film category, and director Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes has been nominated in the Best Documentary Feature category.