Amaal Mallik Calls AR Rahman's Comments 'Largely Correct', Says 'There Is Groupism'

AR Rahman recently hit the headlines for his remarks about alleged communal bias in Bollywood. While his comments did not go down well with a lot of people and industry insiders, singer Amaal Mallik has now said that whatever Rehman said was ‘largely correct’. In a recent interview, the Bigg Boss 19 fame singer claimed that music labels today want to work with their own artistes only. However, Amaal also clarified that he does not agree with the communal angle Rahman spoke about.

“From an industry perspective, what he has said is largely correct. However, I do not agree with the communal aspect of it. Forget nepotism and groupism — today, every label is comfortable working with its own set of artistes. They promote those artistes because they

bring revenue. In today’s time, labels have become the real decision-makers,” Amaal said during his conversation with Faridoon Shahryar, as quoted by Indian Express.

“This is the era of management and agencies. There is groupism, both in good and bad ways. You can see how Mani Ratnam sir works almost exclusively with Rahman sir, or how Anurag Basu mostly collaborates with Pritam da. I once told Anurag Basu sir that I love his work, and he said he only thinks in Pritam’s musical language. These creative synergies naturally form. Labels are comfortable with their artistes — and there’s nothing wrong with that. But if someone is making better music, they should be given priority, whether it’s AR Rahman or a newcomer,” the singer added.

Amaal Mallik further pointed out that even top composers face limitations today. He argued that if somebody like AR Rahman cannot fight this system, how can a newcomer survive in this.

“The industry wants to work with big names like AR Rahman and Pritam da. There are only a few such composers, yet none of them are working as much as Pritam da. There are several big composers and many newcomers too. It’s not about targeting anyone. Over the last 15 years, a new system has come into place where labels prefer to stick to their own artistes and won’t wait for anyone to say yes — not even me or AR Rahman. That’s just how things work today. And if AR Rahman can’t challenge this system, how can someone like me?” he said.

Amaal also argued that AR Rahman’s statement is not his ‘insecurity’ and concluded by saying, “The only way forward is to focus on making good music. I don’t run behind doing 15 films at a time. I understand what he is trying to say. This is not AR Rahman’s insecurity — he is far too big for that. He is only showing the tip of the iceberg. He is pointing out that even someone of his stature can be sidelined. The bigger players today have a bigger say and are overpowering the system.”

What Did AR Rahman Say?

In an interview with BBC Asian Network, AR Rahman said that people who are not creative, now have the power to decide 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.

After facing criticism for his remark about communal bias, AR Rahman issued a clarification through a video message stating that intentions can sometimes be misunderstood, but his purpose has always been to uplift, honour, and serve through music.