Earlier this month, AR Rahman clarified that while “intentions can sometimes be misinterpreted,” his purpose has always been to “uplift, honor and serve” his homeland, India, through music. The Oscar-winning composer’s statement was in the context of the great stir caused for his confession earlier in the week that he may have lost work in the Hindi film industry in recent years. for “communal” reasons.
When Rahman revealed why he composed ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’
Rahman has recently reiterated what he first spoke about 29 years ago, back in 1997. That year, Rahman released the patriotic album Vande Mataram to commemorate 50 years of Indian independence. Rahman, who collaborated with director and producer Bharat Bala on the project, also attributed the intention of composing and singing the anthem “Maa Tujhe Salaam” to the teachings of Islam.
“Even in Islam, it is said that being patriotic to your country is half of it. So we decided to make this great song. We started with it, and when Mehboob (Kotwal, lyricist) brought ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’, it became a beautiful expression,” Rahman said on veteran actress Farida Jalal’s Yaadein BTown Ki podcast in Shemaroo in 1997.
“It was a song that was there for almost 100 years. Therefore, young people should identify with it without any prejudice. It was all to save this issue. And I think that happened very well, and it reached the people,” Rahman added. He revealed that the idea came from Bharat Bala, his former collaborator in advertising campaigns, when they met in Bombay.
“Bala’s father had told him to do something for the country. So he said we should do ‘Vande Mataram’. I said if we plan to do ‘Vande Mataram’, we should do it to reach out to the youth, of all religions, across the world, and to all NRIs so that they have a sense of belonging and feel like they have a home,” Rahman recalls.
The recent AR Rahman controversy
A couple of weeks ago, Rahman confessed during an interview with BBC Asian Network how less work has come his way due to a shift in power within the Hindi film industry in recent years and said it could also be due to the “community thing”. “People who are not creative now have the power to decide things and this could have been a community issue too, but not to my face. It comes to me like a Chinese whisper saying that they hired you, but the music company went ahead and hired their five composers,” he said.
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Addressing the wild reaction that followed, Rahman posted a video message on his Instagram account a couple of days later. “India is my inspiration, my teacher and my home. I understand that intentions can sometimes be misinterpreted. But my purpose has always been to uplift, honor and serve through music. I have never wished to cause pain and I hope my sincerity is felt,” he said in the video.