A.R. Rahman reveals that Shabana Azmi starrer Fire was not something he would stand for; says, “But I feel like I can stand for humanity” : Bollywood News

A.R. Rahman recently opened up about his political stance and revealed that whatever his stance is, it doesn’t affect his work commitments. The music maestro has recently composed music for the much talked about Mani Ratnam film Ponniyin Selvan, Part II of which is releasing later this month. In a recent interview, the musician cited the example of how he composed music for Shabana Azmi, Nandita Das starrer Fire, even though it was not something he would stand for.

A.R. Rahman reveals that Shabana Azmi starrer Fire was not something he would stand for; says, “But I feel like I can stand for humanity”

In an interview with Gallatta Plus, A. R. Rahman recalled doing music for the 1996 film saying, “As a personal choice, what I stand for is different. Even when I did Fire, it was a lesbian movie. Those are not my values or what I stand for but I feel like I can stand for humanity. When somebody I pushed to a core… I felt like I needed to do the movie because she is trying to say something important.” For the unversed, Fire was one of the mainstream films to have portrayed homosexuality and lesbianism. The film, which released over two decades ago, faced several protests from several religious and spiritual groups owing to the portrayal of LGBTQA+.

On the other hand, he also referred to his recent music composition Ponniyin Selvan adding that the film, even though witnessed a lot of violence and it is something he doesn’t believe in, he did compose the scores for the same. “Similarly, with this (Ponniyin Selvan: II) there’s killing and all that stuff but that’s history, you can’t change it,” he added.

He also went on to add about the kind of experiences he has had in his personal life but how he has kept it away from letting it influence his professional life. “I have seen everything. My concrete house was next to a slum. Next to my house was dance master Thankappan, who Kamal Haasan was an assistant to. The conscious decisions I take while I am speaking or what I stand for… It’s not like I am Buddha. I have seen everything, I have watched all kind of films, so I know as a professional I have to deal with that stuff,” he maintained.

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