He noted that he has been getting less working in the Hindi film industry over the past eight years. After being subjected to a lot of criticism recently, he has shared his side of the story through a video.

During a recent interaction with the media, Rahman spoke about getting limited work offers in Bollywood. “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’.” This created a controversy among the film fraternity in Bollywood, as well as became a topic of debate for netizens.

Now, sharing his version, the Oscar Award-winning music composer said that India is not only his home, but also his inspiration and his teacher. He added, “Dear friends, music has always been my way of connecting, celebrating and honouring a culture. 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 shared that he feels blessed to be an Indian, which enables him to work in a space that allows freedom of expression and celebrates multicultural voices.

Reflecting on his journey, ARR shared, “From nurturing Jala presented at the Wave Summit in front of the honourable Prime Minister and Ruhi Noor, to collaborating with the young Naga musicians, to create 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.”

Towards the end, he expressed his gratitude to India and also reiterated his commitment to music that “honours the past, celebrates the present and inspires the future.”

Dismissing AR Rahman’s claim of communal bias in the Hindi film industry, veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar stated, “People may think that he has become busy in the West. They may think that his shows are big. He spends a lot of time in those shows. So, he may not be available for us.”