‘Biggest superstars are Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan’
Reacting to AR Rahman’s controversial ‘social’ statement, Manoj Muntashir said, “I completely disagree with the claim, especially the claim that things have changed in the last eight years. I don’t understand why this period is being highlighted.”
Manoj Muntashir and AR Rahman
Lyricist and poet Manoj Muntashir has taken a firm stand against AR Rahman’s recent social statements, citing the reputation of Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan as India’s biggest superstars to strongly rebut Rahman’s claims of social bias in the film industry. Speaking to IANS, Manoj said, “This is a country whose biggest superstars are Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. Its most famous writers and poets include Javed Akhtar, Sahir Ludhianvi and Majrooh Sultanpuri. This is also a country whose cricket team is captained by Mohammad Azharuddin. I do not believe there is any discrimination in our industry.”
He further added: “In any Hindi movie, at any time, just read the opening and ending credits. You will see a long list of names of almost 250 people. If you look closely, you will notice a clear pattern. I openly challenge anyone to pick any random movie and show me how a particular religion is given special importance while others are ignored. You will never find anything like this.”
Manoj said, “We deeply respect AR Rahman and take great pride in having him belong to our country. At the same time, with full respect, we have the right to disagree and I completely disagree with the argument made, especially the claim that things have changed in the last eight years. I don’t understand why this period is being highlighted.”
The Border 2 lyricist continued, “In the last eight years, movies like Pathaan and Jawan have broken all the box office records. This country has a huge heart and soul. It doesn’t judge its artists, it loves them. If you do good work, people will take you on their shoulders. Sometimes they get upset and scold you, but this closeness comes from love. This is the relationship between this country and its artists. I completely refuse to believe in any form of discrimination, of any kind. This inclusivity is our identity.”
For the unversed, AR Rahman has been making headlines ever since he stated that his work in the Hindi film industry has slowed down in the last eight years, blaming the “power shift” and “communal” policies in the entertainment industry. After the composer received harsh reactions after his “social” words, Rahman shared a video message on his social media account apologizing and explaining that he never intended to hurt feelings, and expressed his regret if his words caused pain to anyone.
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