A R Rahman sets the house on fire

Oscar and Grammy-winning music composer A. R. Rahman graced the latest episode of the streaming sketch comedy show ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’ as the controversy around his remarks about the Hindi film industry continue to gain momentum.

The music composer graced the show along with Vijay Sethupathi, A.R. Rahman, Aditi Rao Hydari aur Siddharth Jadhav. The episode flows between silence, music and solid laughter. The episode also marked the debut of Vijay Sethupathi on Kapil’s couch, fitting right into the madness in his own understated way, while A.R. Rahman reminded everyone why he’s in a league of his own, few words, but endless impact.

Looking at the contrast on the couch, Kapil joked that when he heard about this film, Rahman sir might’ve wondered, “Aap thode confuse ho gaye the ki yeh aapko playback singer ke liye sign karna chahte the, ya actor ke liye (You were a little confused because they wanted to sign you as a playback singer, or as an actor”.

The smile says it all, and the audience fills in the laughter. The tempo picks up when the guests jump into the Headphone Challenge, turning the stage into a playground of missed cues, dramatic guesses and uncontrollable laughs. The audience also got a surprise with a fresh, fun take on ‘Humma Humma’, as A.R. Rahman and Sunil Grover as Diamond Raja vibe to the ‘Slowly Slowly’ track, pulling everyone into the groove.

The controversy erupted after Rahman’s statement in a recent interview about his experience working in the Hindi film industry. During a recent interaction with BBC Asian Network, Rahman spoke about getting limited work offers in Bollywood.

He suggested that over the past eight years, a shift in power dynamics and “communal” factors, meaning issues tied to religion, regional identity, and industry politics, may have influenced the types of opportunities he received in Bollywood.

His comments sparked a strong public and media backlash, with many interpreting his words as implying discrimination or bias within the industry. Following the uproar, Rahman issued a video clarification, stressing that his intentions were misunderstood and that he “never meant to hurt anyone”. He described India as his inspiration and reaffirmed that his music is rooted in unity and cultural celebration.