For quite sometime there has been a lot of debate going on about the claims made by AR Rahman about communal bias existing in the Hindi film industry. Now, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has shared his opinions on what he thinks of Rahman's views, clearly dismissing his idea of a bias existing within the movie business. The Sarkar maker dismissed the idea of any sort of communal identity getting in the way of one's creative opportunities.
In a conversation with Faridoon Shahryar, Varma maintained that Bollywood functions primarily on commercial priorities, asserting that financial viability, rather than personal background, drives decision-making within the industry. His remarks have added another layer to the ongoing debate around access, representation and power structures in Indian cinema.
The filmmaker said, "I don't really want to comment on the communal aspect because I don't believe that. The film industry is only about making money. Whoever makes money for them, they will go after that. They don't care about caste, religion or where you're from." Along with this, he claimed that filmmakers tend to pick those who deliver consistent box office hits, and, as per RGV, that is the only factor that counts.
RGV cited the example of the absolutely legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam and the success he went on to have in Bollywood. The filmmaker pointed out how SPB was chosen to sing for cult films such as Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Maine Pyaar Kiya because the audience approved of it.
While at it, RGV strictly clarified that he was not against what Rahman had said. The filmmaker said, "I can't speak for Rahman because I don't know what he has gone through. It could be something specific that happened to him. Without knowing that, I can't make a judgment."
For those unversed, the controversy started when Rahman, in an interview with BBC Asian Network, was asked if he had faced any sort of prejudice in Bollywood as a Tamil composer. The music composer had replied saying, "The past eight years, maybe, because a power shift has happened, and people who are not creative have the power now. It might be a communal thing also... but it is not in my face."
In terms of work, one of the major projects that all music lovers are excited to witness is Rahman's collaboration with Hans Zimmer on Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana.
