AR Rahman Addresses Miscommunication Controversy Indirectly on ‘The Great Indian Kapil Show’; Shares Insights on Scoring Silent Film ‘Gandhi Talks,

Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman, who recently found himself in headlines over his alleged comments on communalism in the Hindi film industry, made an indirect reference to the controversy during his appearance on the latest episode of The Great Indian Kapil Show.
Using the show’s popular Whisper Challenge game as a metaphor, Rahman remarked:
“This game is actually a very good exercise to see how a message gets completely distorted as it travels. Different states, different languages, different cultures… the biggest problem in the world is exactly this — how messages get twisted in between.”
Viewers immediately connected these words to the earlier controversy surrounding his statements, which he had later clarified were misunderstood and taken out of context.
Talking about ‘Gandhi Talks’
Rahman was on the show to promote the upcoming silent film Gandhi Talks, directed by Kishor Pandurang Belekar, for which he has composed the music. The film’s cast — Vijay Sethupathi, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Siddharth Jadhav — was also present.
Speaking about the unique challenge of scoring a silent film, Rahman said:
“When there are no dialogues, it becomes a complete celebration of music because you have the entire space to express yourself through sound. But at the same time, it’s terrifying — because every single note is exposed. People will judge every sound very closely.”
Praising director Kishor Belekar, he added in a lighter vein:
“He is the first director who has never said anything negative to me, never said ‘I didn’t like this’. Whatever I give him, he just says yes. Even if I just make a ‘ting’ sound, he’ll go, ‘Wow, perfect!’”
The episode has been widely praised online for Rahman’s graceful and subtle way of addressing the earlier controversy without naming it directly, while also offering fascinating insights into the art of composing for a dialogue-free film.
Gandhi Talks is expected to release soon and is being described as a visually and musically rich tribute to Gandhian philosophy presented entirely without spoken words.