"There is a whole gang working against me": Ace music composer AR Rahman

Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman says that he is not getting enough work in the Hindi film industry because "there is a whole gang working against him," as reported in news print. The veteran composed nine songs for Sushant Singh Rajput's last film Dil Bechara that premiered on Disney+Hotstar on June 24.

In an interview, when Rahman was asked why he doesn't compose more music for Bollywood movies, he said that some people in Bollywood have been spreading "false rumors" about him. "See, I don't say no to good movies, but I think there is a gang, which, due to misunderstandings, is spreading some false rumors," he said in an interview.

Rahman, during the interview, also revealed that Dil Bechara director Mukesh Chhabra was told many stories about him by some people in Bollywood and was advised not to approach him for composing music for his debut film.

"I heard that, and I said, 'Yeah okay, now I understand why I am doing less (work) and why the good movies are not coming to me.' I am doing dark movies because there is a whole gang working against me, without them knowing that they are doing harm," said the celebrated music composer.

Grammy award winner, AR Rahman is known for composing magical soundtracks for critically acclaimed films such as Guru, Rockstar, Dil Se, Roja, Lagaan, Raanjhanaa and Swades.

In the same interview, the ace composer said that he's aware of people's expectations from him but the "gang" in Bollywood is "preventing" him from fulfilling those expectations.

He further said, “It is fine because I believe in destiny. I believe that everything comes from God. So, I am taking my own movies and doing my other stuff. But all of you are welcome to come to me. You make beautiful movies, and you are welcome to come to me," he quoted.

Tweeting an excerpt from the interview, Shekhar Kapur, who collaborated with AR Rahman on his 2007 directorial Elizabeth: The Golden Age, wrote,

“You know what your problem is @arrahman? You went and got #Oscars. An Oscar is the kiss of death in Bollywood. It proves you have more talent than Bollywood can handle…”

Hours later, Rahman quoted him and tweeted that it was better for everyone to move on to “greater things”. “Lost Money comes back, fame comes back, but the wasted prime time of our lives will never come back. Peace! Let’s move on. We have greater things to do,” the ace music composer posted on Twitter.

The ace Rahman, who has composed over 100 songs in several languages in a career spanning three decades, recently co-wrote and produced the film 99 Songs, for which he has also designed the original score. He has won the National Awards six times while he has twice won at the Oscars and the Grammys (all four for his work on 2008's film Slumdog Millionaire).