NEW DELHI: The former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti, responded to AR Rahman’s “communal” remark, stating that it is the “truth of India.” Music composer AR Rahman, in a BBC Asian Network interview, had stated that he has been getting less work in the industry, and he feels it is a “communal thing.”In a post on X, Mehbooba Mufti wrote, “Bollywood has always been a living mini India, mirroring the country’s social realities. Brushing aside such experiences does not change the truth about today’s India.”
When Javed Akhtar dismisses A.R. Rahman’s concerns about the growing communalisation of Bollywood he contradicts lived & shared realities of Indian Muslims including those of his own wife Shabana Azmi, who has openly spoken about being denied housing for being Muslim in a…
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti)
January 18, 2026
Lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar had also earlier responded to AR Rahman’s words, ruling out his words stating, “I have never felt this way. I meet people here in Mumbai. They have great respect for him.”Mufti also responded to his remarks, saying he is contradicting the lived realities of Indian Muslims. In her post, she wrote, “When Javed Akhtar dismisses AR Rahman’s concerns about the growing communalisation of Bollywood, he contradicts the lived & shared realities of Indian Muslims…”She further added that Akhtar is also discounting the experiences of his wife, Shabana Azmi. She said, “…including those of his own wife, Shabana Azmi, who has openly spoken about being denied housing for being Muslim in a cosmopolitan city like Bombay.” AR Rahman, in his interview, has said, “I’m not in search of work. I want work to come to me; the sincerity of my work to earn things. I feel it’s a jinx when I go on in search of 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.”Javed Akhtar had contradicted AR Rahman’s remarks, as he said that people might believe Rahman would be busy since he is such a big personality. He said, “People may think that he has become very busy in the West. They may think that his shows are very big. He spends a lot of time in those shows. So, he may not be available for us.”
