No such problem: Salim Merchant on Rahman's communal bias comments
What's the story
In a recent interview with IANS, renowned composer Salim Merchant reacted to his colleague AR Rahman's comments on alleged communal bias in the industry. The controversy erupted after Rahman spoke about facing limited work offers in Bollywood and hinted at possible discrimination due to his religion. However, Merchant pointed out that if Rahman is composing for Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana, one of the biggest films on Indian mythology, it contradicts the idea of any communal bias.
Statement
Merchant on Rahman's limited work in Bollywood
Merchant said, "I don't think that is true. I mean, with all due respect to what Rahman said. He may be right in his own way, for his own experience." "I feel the composer who is doing the biggest film in the history of Indian cinema, which is a Hindu epic called Ramayana, if he is the composer of that, then I don't think there is any problem with any communal thing."
Controversy
Rahman clarified his earlier statement
To recall, Rahman had recently opened up about facing limited work offers in Bollywood. Speaking to BBC Asian Network, he said, "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." After facing backlash for his comments, he posted a video clarifying that he never intended to hurt anyone's sentiments.