3 minutes of readingChennaiFebruary 12, 2026 10:16 am
AR Rahman He recently became the center of controversy after he spoke about the supposed ‘communal’ trend in the industry and said that maybe that was why he wasn’t getting as much work in the film industry. Now, an old clip of Sonu Nigam has resurfaced, in which the singer talked about Rahman being “not a friendly person”.
In an earlier conversation with O2 India, Sonu said, “Rahman doesn’t have relationships. He is not the kind of person who has relationships. He doesn’t open up to anyone. At least, I have never seen that. Maybe, he opens up in front of his older friends, who know him as Dileep. But I haven’t seen him open up or have any relationship with anyone. He is not a friendly person. He is just into his work.”
The singer recalled how his conversations with Rahman were limited to polite exchanges like ‘hello’ and ‘how are you?’ when they toured the United States together. “He doesn’t know how to gossip, and that’s not his problem. He’s like that. He doesn’t want to know anything about me or anyone else, and he doesn’t want anyone else to know about him too. He’s a unique personality,” he said.
Although Rahman may seem aloof to many, Sonu clarified that the composer is actually “detached” and focused only on his work and prayer, which also makes him disinterested in other people’s affairs. He said, “He does his work and his prayer. He does not misbehave with anyone. He will not hurt anyone’s heart. He will not speak ill of anyone. He is detached from all this. He must be attached to his family, but I have not seen him being very friendly with others.” Sonu further added, “He doesn’t let anyone come near him. That’s how it should be.”
In a recent interaction with BBC Asian Network, Rahman spoke about the prejudice that exists in the Hindi film industry. “Maybe in the last eight years because a power shift has happened and non-creative people have the power now. It may also be a community thing… but it’s not in my face. It comes to me like a Chinese whisper that you got hired, but the music company went ahead and hired their 5 songwriters. I say well, I have more time to relax with my family. I’m not looking for a job. I don’t want to go looking for a job. I want the job to come to me; my sincerity to win I deserve it, I get it,” he said.