- Ramayan fame Arun Govil has expressed his disagreement with AR Rahman’s ‘communal’ remarks, stating that there is no religious bias in Bollywood. The actor-turned-politician also praised superstars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan.
- Here’s what Arun Govil said
- Arun Govil praises Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan
- Rahman’s ‘communal’ remarks caused a stir
Ramayan fame Arun Govil has expressed his disagreement with AR Rahman’s ‘communal’ remarks, stating that there is no religious bias in Bollywood. The actor-turned-politician also praised superstars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan.
Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman recently landed in controversy after his remarks in an interview with BBC Asian Network. While discussing the changing power dynamics in the music industry, Rahman had said, ‘Today, decisions are often made by people who are not creative,’ and further added that it might be a communal issue.
His comments drew criticism on social media and from some in the film industry. Now, amidst this ongoing controversy, ‘Ramayan’ fame Arun Govil has reacted to Rahman’s communal statement and shared his opinion.
Here’s what Arun Govil said
Reacting to the controversy, actor-politician Arun Govil, best known for his iconic portrayal of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayan, spoke to news agency PTI on the sidelines of an event organized by the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) and Cine Artists Welfare Trust (CAWT) on Friday evening. Govil dismissed the notion of communal discrimination in the film industry.
‘In our industry, it has never happened that people didn’t get work because of communal discrimination. There are examples of this in our industry. People from every religion have worked in our industry. Even today, there is nothing like that. In fact, the film industry is the only industry where there is no communal discrimination,’ the actor said.
Arun Govil praises Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan
To prove his point, Govil cited examples of some of the biggest stars of Hindi cinema. He said, ‘Earlier, there were actors like Dilip Kumar, he was the king of the industry in his time. Even today, Shah Rukh, Salman, and Aamir are all stars. If there were communal discrimination, how would they have become stars?’
Rahman’s ‘communal’ remarks caused a stir
In an interview with BBC Asian Network, Rahman spoke about how creative authority has shifted in recent years. ‘People who are not creative now have the power to make decisions, and this might even be a communal thing, but not in front of me,’ the Academy winner said. He further added that such decisions often reach him indirectly, and he compared this process to Chinese whispers.
Following the controversy, Rahman released a video message to clarify his statement.
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