Music Composer AR Rahman performed Jana Gana Mana, Vande Mataram at the UAE concert amid controversy surrounding his beliefs. His performance gained attention and instantly became viral on social media platforms. He ignited debate over the communal tensions in Bollywood.

AR Rahman under fire once again

AR Rahman recently appeared in a podcast, which ignited a whole new controversy on religion and communal tensions. He said how things have changed in Bollywood, and it might be because of a change in power dynamics and the kind of people who have the power to make decisions in the industry. What really made him the villain is when he called Vicky Kaushal's film Divisive.

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

“Maybe I didn’t get to know all this stuff. Maybe God concealed all this stuff. But for me, I never felt any of those. The past eight years, maybe, because a power shift has happened, you know, people who are not creative have the power now to decide things, and this might have been a communal thing also… but it is not in my face. It comes to me as Chinese whispers that they booked you, but the music company went ahead and hired their five composers. I said, ‘Oh, that’s great, rest for me, I can chill out with my family." AR Rahman said.

Later, he released a video in which he clarified that his intentions were misunderstood in the wrong light and that he did not mean what people perceived from his remarks. He says India is his inspiration and his home.

AR Rahman, in an attempt to redirect all the hate into love, performed Indian patriotic songs like Vande Mataram and Jana Gana Mana at a packed concert in Abu Dhabi, which gained attention after his controversy and the debate over religion.

 

#ARRahman performed and led 20,000+ fans in singing “Vande Mataram” at the Etihad Arena in Abu dhabi, UAE on Yesterday night.

He is Unstoppable @arrahman 🐐👑🇮🇳pic.twitter.com/6lFI4GCDoN

— A.R.Rahman News (@ARRahman_News) January 24, 2026