Recently, AR Rahman commented that he has received very few opportunities in Bollywood in the last eight years, blaming the industry being “communal” for the slowdown. When India Today asked lyricist-screenwriter Javed Akhtar about this, he said he felt his comment had been misinterpreted.

The author rejected the idea and expressed doubt that Rahman would ever make such a statement. He said that Rahman is highly respected in the industry, but many people hesitate to approach him just because of his stature.

“I don’t agree with that, and I also doubt that he would ever say something like that. Rahman is a great musician, and a lot of people respect him. But they are afraid to approach him because he is so big. They are afraid to talk to him and handle him. However, this is a misconception. It is because of his awe and fear that people stay away from him… It’s not for us, he is a very big man (He’s a big shot)” said the author in an exclusive chat with us.

For those unfamiliar with the context, Rahman was interrogated BBC Asian Network About whether prejudice operates within the Hindi film industry, especially towards people from the Tamil community or people from outside Maharashtra. While the musician said he has not personally faced discrimination, he indicated that changing power structures within the industry may have been a contributing factor.

He said, “Maybe I never knew about it. Maybe it was hidden, but I didn’t realize anything of it. Maybe in the last eight years, because there has been a change of power and people who are not creative now have power. It could also be a communal thing, but that doesn’t come across to me. It comes to me in the form of Chinese whispers that they booked you, but the music company went ahead and hired 5 of their musicians. I say well, I don’t have time to relax with my family. I don’t want to go looking for work. I want to be honest.”

In the same interview, Rahman also commented on how he consciously avoids projects with harmful intentions. When asked about his ethics in terms of art, Javed Akhtar said, “My ethics are very clear in two things. In my life, you have no idea how many films I have left. Many times I signed, and then we had a discussion, and I walked out. Sometimes during the film, I walked out. And then, sometimes, I did a few songs and then left.”

Additionally, Javed Akhtar stated that he refuses to tolerate obscenity and walks away from any project that involves it. He added that he also avoids working with poor grammar or incorrect language, explaining that he will not compromise with the lyrics just because someone else does not know the language.

“One thing I am not willing to compromise with at any cost is obscenity. And in any situation, if I see any element of obscenity, I walk away from it. The other thing is bad grammar. Because You don’t know the language and you are asking me to put this in the song. (You don’t know the language and you are asking me to put it in the song). Because of your ignorance, I can’t let my name be in a song with bad language and grammar. So I leave,” Akhtar said.