Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman has created controversy with his recent statement in an interview given to BBC Asian Network. On the changing equations in the music industry, Rahman said that "people who are not creative" now have the power to take decisions and also advised that it "could be a community issue", evoking strong reactions on social media and in some sections of the film industry.

What did Arun Govil say?

Actor and politician Arun Govil, who became a household name after playing the role of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayana, has expressed his opinion on this subject. Speaking to PTI at an event organized by the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) and Cine Artistes Welfare Trust (CAWT) on Friday evening, he said, "It has never happened in our industry that people have not got work because of communal discrimination. There are examples of this in our industry. We have had people from every religion working here. Even today, there is no such thing. In fact, the film industry is the only industry where there is no communal discrimination."

He further said, "Earlier there were actors like Dilip Kumar, he was the king of the industry in his time. Even today Shahrukh, Salman, Aamir, all of them are stars. If there was communal discrimination, how would they have become stars?"

What did Rahman say?

In the interview that sparked controversy, Rahman had said, "Nowadays, people who are not creative have the power to take decisions, and it may have been a communal issue too, but not directly." He further said that such decisions often reach them indirectly, in what he described as “whispers”.