Music: Amid backlash over his remarks calling ‘Chhaava’ divisive and hinting at possible communal bias affecting his Bollywood opportunities, A R Rahman went on to render soulful renditions of ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ at his recent concert in Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Arena.
Bollywood filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, who attended the concert, took to his X (formerly Twitter) handle and wrote, “What an exhilarating concert by AR Raham at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi last night, packed to capacity. 20,000 people cheering, singing, dancing and even crying to Rahman’s beautiful soulful songs.”
Several fans also took to social media to share videos of Rahman performing at the concert.
Along with the video, a fan wrote, “I was hoping AR Rahman would answer his critics tonight and he did. His 2024 Abu Dhabi concert ended with Chaiyya Chaiyya and when he performed that after nearly 4 hours tonight I thought surely this is the finale. But he said wait, one last song. And then he — and the whole arena — sang Vande Mataram.”
I was hoping AR Rahman would answer his critics tonight and he did.
His 2024 Abu Dhabi concert ended with Chaiyya Chaiyya and when he performed that after nearly 4 hours tonight I thought surely this is the finale. But he said wait, one last song.
And then he — and the whole… https://t.co/swLhsxJW7x pic.twitter.com/UQilaNwEsf
— Maddy Ravi (@missmaddenstein) January 23, 2026
Apart from ‘Vande Mataram’, ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ and ‘Jana Gana Mana’, Rahman also performed his Oscar-winning song ‘Jai Ho’ from ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ at the 4-hour-long concert held on January 23.
For the unversed, in an interview with BBC Asian Network, when Rahman was asked whether he ever felt prejudice in Bollywood as a Tamil composer, he replied, “The past eight years, maybe, 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.”
He also criticised ‘Vicky Kaushal’ period drama ‘Chhaava’ for cashing in on ‘divisiveness’.
Rahman’s comments on ‘Chhaava’ and communalism didn’t sit well with many, sparking a controversy.
Later, he shared a video message, reiterating his love for the country, “India is my inspiration, my teacher and my home. I understand that intentions can sometimes be misunderstood.”
