A R Rahman may be a man of few words, but he understands the power of them. Over the past week, the Oscar-winning musician has been at the receiving end of relentless backlash for his comments in an interview with BBC Asian Network.

During the interview, when asked about prejudice in the Hindi film industry, 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.” Since then, the musician — easily one of the brightest talents in the Indian music industry — has been trolled and termed “anti-national” for his communal bias remark.

Weighing in on the controversy, his colleague and Bollywood composer Mithoon has come out in Rahman’s support. “I have grown up looking up to Rahman sir. He was the man who threw every textbook rule out of the window, yet created a powerful impact in our industry,” Mithoon told mid-day, of the composer who, over a three-decade-plus career, has given hits like Roja (1992), Rangeela (1995), Guru (2007), and Rockstar (2011).

In 2009, he became the first Indian to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for Slumdog Millionaire (2008), following it up with two wins at the Academy Awards for the same movie. 

Mithoon firmly stated that the Mozart of Madras is entitled to his opinion. He shared, “It’s been over three decades, and the country continues to love him. He has every right to say what he felt. All I can say, as his contemporary, is that this country will continue to love him. There can be no other AR Rahman.”

Rahman’s remarks were met with such vitriol that he had to issue a clarification. Calling India “my inspiration and my home”, he said, “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.”

When we asked Mithoon if he had experienced power shifts in the industry, he replied, “I haven’t experienced anything like this [but] this must be happening in every field. For instance, copywriters feel their bosses don’t understand what they are doing or directors feel that producers don’t understand. Ultimately, our job is to engage the audience with our art.”