"He is not at that stage where anybody can influence his career": 'Nazar Ke Samne' singer Anuradha Paudwal backs AR Rahman

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 12 : Veteran singer Anuradha Paudwal has weighed in on the recent controversy surrounding music composer AR Rahman's alleged "communal" remark, calling the latter a "saintly person."
Speaking to ANI, Anuradha Paudwal backed the Oscar-winning composer. She shared, "From what I know of AR Rahman is through his music. I have never met him personally, but his music tells that he is a very saintly person."
In response to media reports about Rahman's communal comments, Paudwal highlighted how media questions are tweaked in a manner to evoke provocative answers.
"I have been in the industry, and I have seen that when any artist, not only AR Rahman, but when any artist sits for an interview, the interviewer usually likes to frame questions in such a way to incite their desired response. The media, the channels, they don't like straight interviews. Because they want something else," she said.
The 'Nazar Ke Samne' singer maintained that Rahman has delivered countless tracks to the music industry.
"AR Rahman has given us the greatest of numbers, and he is beyond all this. He has achieved so much. He is not at that stage where anybody can influence his career. That's what I feel as a senior artist, he has done wonders with his songs. There is no meaning in it," she added.
Paudwal's reaction came in the wake of the controversy that erupted after Rahman, in an interview with BBC Asian Network, said that work from the Hindi film industry had slowed down for him in recent years and linked this to changes in the industry over the past eight years.
After that interview, reactions came from both fans and distinguished personalities, including the likes of Kangana Ranaut, Paresh Rawal, Ranvir Shorey, Subhash Ghai, and Shobhaa De among others.