Tamil poet Piraisoodan says A R Rahman’s mother had asked him to remove Tilak before entering their house

Piraisoodan, A R Rahman with his mother

Bollywood music maestro AR Rahman, who had recently opened a can of worms by saying that there was a ‘gang’ working against him, has yet again taken a centre-stage in another controversy after Tamil poet and lyricist Piraisoodan made a shocking disclosure on how Rahman’s family had expressed their intolerance towards Hindu traditions and its symbols.

Narrating an incident, noted Tamil poet and lyricist Piraisoodan stated that AR Rahman’s family had expressed their contempt towards Hindu Dharma in his presence. Reportedly, Piraisoodan said that he had met Rahman in a government function, where the music director remembered how both had worked together in the past.

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According to the poet, Rahman wanted to revive their old professional bond and had asked him to come to his house to write lyrics for a new movie song.

When Piraisoodan went to Rahman’s house upon his invitation, shockingly Rahman’s mother asked him that he should not wear Vibuthi and Kumkum Tilak when he visits their house.

However, ‘I refused to remove the Hindu religious marks on his forehead’, Piraisoodan said. It is pertinent to note that both Vibhuthi and Kumkum are applied on the forehead by Hindus, especially in South India where devout Hindus adorn it every day.

AR Rehman is born a Hindu. However, he and his family had converted to Islam after his sister and father fell seriously ill and a Sufi told his family to convert to save the girl’s life. Soon Dileep Kumar became A R Rehman and his mother Kasturi Shekhar became Kareema Beegum.

Rahman had also once stoked a controversy after he had blamed the Hindu deities for his father’s death. Rahman had said that the deities which his father worshipped, had killed him. Rahman’s daughter Khatija Rahman had also triggered controversy by defending the burqa, without which she is not seen in the public. She had said that burqa empowers her.

Amid the raging nepotism debate in Bollywood, legendary musician AR Rahman opened up about the vicious Bollywood ‘gangs’ which have been working tirelessly to ensure he finds less work in Bollywood. Rahman added that he is now forced to do ‘dark’ movies and not the good ones as several people have ganged him against him, without realising that they are ‘harming’ his career prospects. 

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia