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New Delhi, India – Allah Rakha Rahman, popularly known arsenic AR Rahman, is undoubtedly India’s astir celebrated composer. He has won immoderate of the world’s astir coveted philharmonic awards – including Oscars, Grammys and a Golden Globe. His opus Jai Ho (May You Win), which won him an Oscar, became a celebrated anthem. The 59-year-old “Mozart of Madras” has besides been honoured with Padma Vibhushan, India’s 3rd highest civilian award, for his publication to music.
But past week, erstwhile Rahman, a antheral of fewer words, shared successful a TV interrogation that helium perchance has mislaid enactment owed to “communal” bias successful Bollywood, India’s Hindi movie industry, helium was subjected to a monolithic online backlash from Hindu right-wing voices.
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“People who are not originative person the powerfulness present to determine things, and this mightiness person been a communal happening besides but not successful my face,” Rahman told the BBC Asian Network successful the interrogation aired connected Friday.
“It comes to maine arsenic Chinese whispers that they booked you, but the euphony institution went up and hired their 5 composers. I said, ‘Oh, that’s great, remainder for me. I tin chill retired with my family,’” helium said successful the 90-minute interview.
Right-wing commentators and activists questioned Rahman’s patriotism and talent, accusing him of playing the “victim card”.
Vinod Bansal from the far-right organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), demanded an apology from Rahman for “defaming” the country.
“We are arrogant of him and immoderate helium has done for the country. But for idiosyncratic who has earned his surviving from the Indian industry, the mode helium is trying to defame the state is highly objectionable,” helium told Al Jazeera.
Barring a fewer outspoken voices, manufacture insiders person closed ranks, offering nary solidarity and distancing themselves from the remarks.
Within a day, the composer was forced to tender an mentation amid an unrelenting watercourse of societal media trolling. In a video posted to his Instagram account, Rahman said: “I recognize that intentions tin sometimes beryllium misunderstood, but my intent has ever been to uplift, honour and service done music.”
He stressed that helium remained grateful to the federation and noted that helium had thanked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his enactment of India’s amusement manufacture and young creatives and was moving connected the inheritance people for the upcoming movie Ramayana, based connected the Hindu epic, with German composer Hans Zimmer.
Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan talk connected signifier during the ‘EAST TO WEST: The Global Rise of Bollywood’ sheet astatine the 2025 Joy Forum astatine SEF Arena connected October 17, 2025 successful Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 3 Khans person been Bollywood’s starring figures for the past 3 decades [Amal Alhasan/Getty Images for GEA]Rising spiritual intolerance successful India
But the backlash connected societal media continued for days, bringing into the spotlight the conflict of being a Muslim amid rising spiritual intolerance successful India.
“Incredible to spot Rahman being moved from the bully Muslim to the atrocious Muslim class overnight,” Indian writer Fatima Khan posted connected X.
“Almost each Muslim nationalist fig successful India has had oregon volition person the penny driblet moment. No substance however galore patriotic songs, movies oregon tweets. They’ll each unrecorded done the cruelty of it.”
Online trolling helps manufacture majoritarian consent, according to Debasish Roy Chowdhury, coauthor of To Kill a Democracy: India’s Passage to Despotism.
He argued that erstwhile capable sound is generated connected societal media, it seeps into mainstream sum and starts to look similar the ascendant societal mood.
“The loudest voices past drown retired tolerance and crushed until hatred is each that is heard and tin beryllium falsely claimed arsenic typical of society,” said Chowdhury, who has written astir Bollywood being utilized arsenic a propaganda tool.
India has seen the emergence of anti-Muslim unit nether the regularisation of Prime Minister Modi [File: Sajjad Hussain/AFP]Hindu right’s power connected creation and cinema
Rahman isn’t known for being outspoken astir authorities oregon talking astir his Muslim identity. He has worked connected a just stock of nationalist films, including Roja, released successful 1992 and celebrated for its patriotic themes and portrayal of the equipped rebellion successful India-administered Kashmir successful the 1990s.
Rahman’s 1997 opus Maa Tujhe Salam (Salute to You, Mother) connected his medium Vande Mataram was seen arsenic unifying the divers federation of 1.4 cardinal people.
Rahman started his vocation successful the confederate Tamil movie industry. He is based successful Chennai, the superior of Tamil Nadu state.
The Oscar winner’s comments past week raised questions astir the Hindu right’s power connected creation and cinema successful India, peculiarly successful Bollywood.
The Hindi movie manufacture has been called retired for producing films that echo Hindu supremacist narratives, works that vilify Muslims and secular leaders, oregon adjacent glorify Hindu extremists.
Some argued that this has happened due to the fact that of a sustained civilization warfare connected Bollywood, pressuring it to wantonness its pluralist, wide ethos and pushing it towards Hindu majoritarian narratives, aligning cinema intimately with the ruling enactment ideology.
The Kashmir Files (2022) triggered anti-Muslim hatred crossed India portion the Kerala Story (2023) was accused of spreading Islamophobia by portraying Muslims arsenic imaginable “terrorists”.
More recently, Rahman composed euphony for the movie Chhaava, which was accused of demonizing Muslims. The movie portrayed Mughal ruler Aurangzeb arsenic a brutal and convulsive ruler. Rahman successful his BBC interrogation admitted the movie was “divisive”.
‘Vilification of Muslims’
Raja Sen, a screenwriter and movie critic, said: “We’re seeing a benignant of vilification of Muslims connected our screens.”
“Earlier, it was conscionable similar an anti-Pakistan narrative. Now, there’s a antithetic benignant of narrative,” helium told Al Jazeera.
Hindi cinema has traditionally formed Pakistan arsenic the enemy, focusing connected topics of war, ‘”terror” and espionage, which are shaped by decades of hostility. The 2 neighbouring countries person fought respective wars implicit the disputed Kashmir region. They were concisely engaged successful a four-day warfare successful May aft gunmen killed 26 tourists successful India-administered Kashmir.
Films that erstwhile centred connected a overseas adversary present progressively framework Indian Muslims arsenic an interior threat.
Sen claimed that a large filmmaker changed an upcoming film’s Muslim protagonist’s sanction to a Hindu name, fearing controversy.
“They indispensable person thought, wherefore marque the protagonist, a good, heroic guy, a Muslim. It’s possibly akin to what utilized to hap successful post-9/11 America successful presumption of however the stereotyping was being done,” Sen added.
Bollywood’s erstwhile mostly secular ethos presented Muslim characters arsenic positive, adjacent if stereotypical. They were loyal friends, brothers oregon benevolent poets and singers successful films similar Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and Coolie (1983).
In caller years, however, Muslims progressively person appeared arsenic debauched (Animal), regressive (Haq), “terrorist” (A Wednesday) oregon convulsive (Kalank), mirroring post-9/11 Hollywood films erstwhile Muslim individuality became shorthand for information oregon motivation deficiency.
Dilip Kumar (real sanction Yusuf Khan – right) was India’s biggest prima during the 1950s and 1960s [File: KK/FY/WS]Muslim stars targeted
Muslim actors, filmmakers and different artists person played a cardinal relation successful shaping Hindi cinema from its aboriginal days to the present.
The prominence of stars specified arsenic Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan has often been cited arsenic grounds of Bollywood’s secular credentials and wide appeal.
Yet successful caller years, the country’s biggest Muslim stars person progressively recovered themselves targeted. This has not happened lone implicit their films but besides for their opinions expressed publically connected spiritual intolerance.
Aamir Khan’s films person repeatedly faced boycott calls from right-wing Hindu groups, including his 2014 movie PK for critiquing organised religion, including Hinduism and Islam, and 2022’s Laal Singh Chaddha for his past remarks connected intolerance.
Aamir Khan had to reassure radical that helium “really loved his country”. He has besides been accused of promoting emotion jihad, a conspiracy mentation accusing Muslim men of marrying Hindu women to person them, a complaint amplified by a televised interrogation with quality anchor Rajat Sharma, who questioned him astir marrying Hindu women.
Shah Rukh Khan has been targeted connected aggregate occasions for remarks and nonrecreational choices. In 2015, helium was branded “anti-national” for mentioning intolerance. He was besides subjected to campaigns questioning his patriotism erstwhile his son, Aryan Khan, was arrested successful a drugs lawsuit successful 2021 contempt the charges aboriginal being dropped.
More recently, helium was labelled a traitor by a ruling enactment subordinate aft his Indian Premier League cricket squad signed a Bangladeshi player. The Kolkata Knight Riders, co-owned by Shah Rukh Khan, dropped the Bangladeshi subordinate amid tensions betwixt the 2 countries.
In caller years, rights organisations and autarkic monitors person documented what they described arsenic a systematic run of hatred and favoritism against Muslims successful India, who marque up astir 14 percent of the country’s 1.4 cardinal people.
According to the India Hate Lab Report 2025, determination has been a crisp emergence successful antiminority hatred code – from 668 reported incidents successful 2023 to much than 1,300 successful 2025 – overmuch of it voiced astatine governmental rallies, processions and nationalist events that is past amplified online into mainstream discourse.
Human rights groups similar Amnesty International person besides documented demolitions targeting Muslim-owned businesses and homes successful respective states.
Beyond studies, lived accounts and quality sum constituent to systematic exclusion successful mundane beingness from difficulties uncovering rental lodging to practising religion and being lynched implicit accusations of transporting cattle, considered ineffable by immoderate Hindus.
‘A chilling effect’
Such backlash has a chilling effect. Artists said originative state successful Hindi cinema has narrowed markedly successful caller years, mostly by the anticipation of a backlash. Silence and self-censorship, immoderate feel, person go captious for endurance successful the movie manufacture today.
“Since 2014, determination has been a radical wrong the movie manufacture that works wrong the power of authorities and benefits from it, that boldly and aggressively underlines and creates galore of these controversies,” filmmaker Avinash Das said.
Das revealed how, connected respective occasions, producers refused to enactment with him aft they recovered retired astir his disapproval of the government.
He pointed retired that a 1983 satirical film, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, which depicted a Hindu spiritual performance, cannot beryllium made now.
According to him, cinema is not conscionable an creation signifier but a concern shaped by risk, which makes filmmakers and producers wary of thing that could beryllium seen arsenic controversial. The aforesaid extends to those who talk out.
Indian celebrities look to beryllium bound by the aforesaid codification of silence, which explains wherefore truthful few, careless of whether they are Hindu oregon Muslim, talk publically astir the country’s existent direction.
Chowdhury said Bollywood contrasts sharply with Hollywood, wherever unfastened dissent by celebrities, adjacent disparaging remarks astir United States President Donald Trump, is reasonably commonplace.
“But for Muslim celebrities successful India, the constraints are adjacent tighter due to the fact that successful caller India, Muslims are not meant to beryllium heard,” Chowdhury told Al Jazeera. “They are expected to beryllium voiceless and faceless. They are expected to lurk successful the fringes and not instrumentality the spotlight.”
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