‘AR Rahman Doesn’t Understand Hindi’: Bulla Ki Jaana Singer’s Blunt Take On Working With Oscar-Winning Composer

AR Rahman once revealed that he began learning Hindi, Urdu, and Arabic nearly ten years after establishing himself in the Hindi film industry, following advice from filmmaker Subhash Ghai.

Tere Bin singer Rabbi Shergill (L) and Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman (R).

Source : Instagram

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• Singer Rabbi Shergill feels lyrics become secondary in AR Rahman's compositions.
• Shergill suggests this occurs because Hindi is not Rahman's native language.
• Rahman previously learned Hindi and Urdu after establishing his career.
• He also shared experiences of receiving fewer Bollywood projects.

Singer Rabbi Shergill, best known for Bulla Ki Jaana and Tere Bin, recently spoke about his experience working with Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman. While expressing admiration for Rahman’s talent, Shergill said that lyrics often become “secondary” in Rahman’s compositions. He said that this is because “Rahman doesn’t understand Hindi” since it is not his primary language. 

‘AR Rahman Doesn’t Understand Hindi’

“I admire Rahman for his creative genius. He is a genius. There is no doubt about it,” Shergill said in a podcast conversation with Divas Gupta, before adding that “Rahman phase is not pro poetry or pro lyrics phase in Hindi film industry”. 

He further explained his concern, “I feel after Rahman came, the lyrics in the Hindi film industry became secondary, and if lyrics become secondary, that means expression becomes secondary, it means that somewhere your humanity and existence become secondary, this is my issue with Rahman.”

Shergill clarified that he does not blame Rahman personally for the language gap. “It is not his fault because it is not his language. He doesn’t understand it.” He, however, praised his work in the Tamil music industry, saying that it is “another ball game”. 

The 52-year-old singer said his larger concern is with the music industry rather than with Rahman himself. “If somebody doesn’t understand your language, I think it was your call. You need to explain all of that to him.”

 

 

 

 

 

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AR Rahman On Learning Hindi

AR Rahman has previously spoken about learning new languages later in his career. He revealed that he began learning Hindi, Urdu, and Arabic nearly ten years after establishing himself in the Hindi film industry, following advice from filmmaker Subhash Ghai.

“I thought it was beautiful advice. I took it seriously and learned Hindi and Urdu,” AR Rahman had said. 

Rahman also shared that he started learning Punjabi after being introduced to singer Sukhwinder Singh. Speaking to the BBC, he explained: “I got into Punjabi because of Sukhwinder Singh’s influence when he came into my world. The reason why I got Sukhwinder was that I was asking, ‘Do you have any singer who can sing and write in Punjabi? Then my friend Brij Bhushan suggested Sukhwinder Singh.”

Rahman On Getting Less Work In Bollywood

AR Rahman has been in the news for his remarks about receiving fewer projects in the Hindi film industry. In a BBC interview, he suggested that the reasons could include communal factors.

“Maybe I never get to know of this, maybe it was concealed, but I didn’t feel any of this. Maybe in the past eight years, 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. It comes to me as Chinese whispers that they booked you, but the music company went ahead and hired their 5 composers. I say good, I have more time to chill with my family. I am not in search for work. I don’t want to go in search of work. I want work to come to me; my sincerity to earn work. Whatever I deserve, I get,” he told the BBC. 

Following the backlash, he issued a statement on Instagram. “Music has always been my way of connecting, celebrating and honouring our culture. India is my inspiration, my teacher and my home. I understand that intentions can sometimes be misunderstood. But my purpose has always been to uplift, honour and serve through music. I have never wished to cause pain, and I hope my sincerity is felt,” AR Rahman said. 

He added, “I feel blessed to be Indian, which enables me to create a space which always allows freedom of expression and celebrates multicultural voices.”