AR Rahman has found support from fellow artists after he became the target of online criticism following comments made in a recent interview, which many on social media claimed were offensive. As the debate intensified, singer Chinmayi Sripada stepped in to defend the Oscar-winning composer.
The controversy escalated when a journalist posted on X (formerly Twitter), saying they were “incredibly hurt” by Rahman’s remarks and alleging that he had refused to sing 'Vande Mataram' or 'Maa Tujhe Salaam' during an interview, despite repeated requests. The claim quickly gained traction, prompting varied reactions online.
Chinmayi strongly refuted the allegation, pointing to her own experience performing with Rahman. She wrote that Rahman, along with other singers, performed Vande Mataram before a chanting audience on November 23, 2025, at the RK Laxman Memorial Award concert in Pune. “AR Rahman and all of us sang 'Vande Mataram' to a crowd that chanted with us,” she stated, countering the narrative that he avoids the song.
She further added that Rahman regularly performs 'Maa Tujhe Salaam' at his shows. “He sings 'Maa Tujhe Salaam' at almost every concert… Everyone who has attended the concerts knows this,” Chinmayi wrote, suggesting that there could have been personal or professional reasons for his refusal on that particular day. “Maybe he felt his voice was not at its best or just didn’t feel like singing that day when you interviewed him. And that’s OK,” she added.
Calling out the rush to judgement on social media, Chinmayi also criticised the tone of online reactions. “The responses under this tweet, ‘OH THAT EXPLAINS IT’, show exactly what’s gone wrong in the recent past,” she wrote, highlighting how quickly assumptions were being made.
Rahman has been under scrutiny since his interview with BBC Asian Network, where he spoke about a noticeable decline in Hindi film offers over the past eight years. He attributed this to a shift in power within the industry, saying, “It might be a communal thing also… but it is not in my face.” In the same conversation, he also remarked that the film Chhaava capitalised on “divisiveness” and criticised the repeated use of phrases like “Subhanallah” and “Alhamdulillah” during moments of crisis, calling it “cliché and cringe”.
