A video of AR Rahman playfully asking his wife Saira Banu to speak in Tamil instead of Hindi at an award show has gone viral on social media inviting mixed responses.

news Kollywood Friday, April 28, 2023 - 12:56
Written by  TNM Staff

A video of music composer AR Rahman playfully asking his wife to speak in Tamil instead of Hindi during an award show has gone viral on social media and has been receiving mixed reactions. One such response to the video was from a popular right-wing activist named Kasturi Shankar who shared the link of the video on Twitter and asked in Tamil, “What, AR Rahman’s wife does not know Tamil? What is her mother tongue? What language does their family speak at home?” In his usual witty and collected manner, AR Rahman responded, “Kadhalukku mariyadhai”, which roughly translates to “respect for love.” 

The video that went viral features the Oscar winning music composer accepting an award for Best Playback Singer for his song Marakkuma Nenjam from the movie Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu at the Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards on March 30. While accepting the award, Rahman said that his wife was the biggest fan of his voice. Later, he invited his wife onto the stage and handed the trophy to her. When the anchor at the award ceremony handed the mic to her he said, “Hindi la pesatheenga, Tamil la pesunga please” which translates to “Don’t speak in Hindi, please speak in Tamil.” This statement received loud cheers and applause from the audience.

Saira Banu is seen laughing off this quip and goes on to say that she is not very fluent in Tamil and speaks in English. The entire exchange that lasts a few minutes appears to have been a playful conversation on stage in which Rahman is playfully asking his wife to speak in Tamil, which she cannot do fluently.

Meanwhile, in the past, AR Rahman has taken a stance against Hindi being used at Tamil award shows and press conferences. In 2021, while addressing the media before the release of his movie 99 Songs, an anchor who initially spoke in Tamil switched to Hindi to welcome Rahman and the lead of the movie Ehan Bhat. As soon as the anchor switched, Rahman playfully asked, “Hindi?!” before walking off the stage. He further jokingly said, “I asked you earlier if you speak Tamil. The anchor replied to this in Tamil saying, “I was speaking in Tamil and simply welcomed him [Ehan Bhat] in Hindi.” She also apologised jokingly and asked him to not be upset with her.