Rani Mukherji speaks out against AR Rahman

Regarding AR Rahman’s recent remarks regarding the shifting power dynamics in the Indian music industry, actor Rani Mukerji has spoken. Rani disagrees with the Oscar-winning composer’s suggestion in a BBC Asian Network interview that non-creative individuals with decision-making authority are influencing the creative area, adding that “it might be a communal thing.” The actor, who has been on a Mardaani 3 promotional tour, stated in a recent interview with DD News that she has never encountered this kind of prejudice in her thirty-year career.

 “Bollywood is the most secular place, and I truly believe that. There is no discrimination based on caste or religion. In my 30 years in the industry, I have never experienced anything like this. I love this industry, it made me who I am today,” she said.

Emphasising that talent and hard work are the true markers of success in the film business, Rani added, “I am saying this from the bottom of my heart: here, merit matters. Your work speaks for you, and ultimately, the person the audience connects with is the one who survives and succeeds. For me, Bollywood remains the most secular and one of the most amazing places to be.”

When asked about the alleged existence of lobbies within the industry, the actor maintained that she keeps her focus elsewhere. “I stay far away from all of that. I only focus on my films, and at this stage of my life, my priority is my child and my family,” she said.

In his conversation with BBC Asian Network, Rahman had reflected on the struggles he faced as a Tamil composer in Bollywood. “I’m not in search of work. I want work to come to me; the sincerity of my work to earn things. I feel it’s a jinx when I go on in search of things… 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. It comes to me as Chinese whispers that they booked you but the music company went ahead and hired their five composers. I said, ‘Oh that’s great, rest for me, I can chill out with my family,’” he said in the interview.