After musician AR Rahman, Oscar-winning sound engineer Resul Pookutty reveals how he felt shunned by the film industry, taking the insider vs outsider debate to a whole new level. Does this hint at a ‘Time’s up’ moment in Bollywood? Team Viva introspects
For the massive and vibrant scale of Indian cinema, we have only a handful of international honours. Oscars are rarer and though the format of those awards is formulaic and not accommodative of the way Indians look at films, few of our own have broken that barrier. One such is music composer and producer, musician, and singer Allah Rakha Rahman. He is not just a name but a phenomenon, who has single-handedly revolutionised popular music across geographical divides.
Evolving from Tamil and Telugu music industry, Rahman composed for Mani Ratnam’s Roja (1992), a masterpiece album that not only fetched him Best Music Director at the National Film Awards but also became his gateway to finding success in Bollywood. And the rest is known to the world. With two Grammys, one Golden Globe and a BAFTA, Rahman gained global prominence when he picked up Academy Awards for Best Song and Score for Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire (2009).
However, how often is it that a globally-acclaimed and honoured artiste comes out in the public to reveal he hasn’t been getting enough opportunities at home? Or precisely the industry that spools out chartbusters in popular music, namely Bollywood? He did till he was a novelty. But once his success solidified, the industry went back to its comfortable game of playing lobbies. Well, ever since he alleged that Bollywood has let him down by constantly “spreading rumours about him” and in turn, lessening his chances of getting good work, there has been a flood on social media about how a toxic Bollywood kills talent. It lent further heft to the campaign following actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s mysterious death, who as an “outsider”, was a victim of “insider politics.”
Asked in an interview as to why he works more frequently for Tamil cinema and not Hindi, he responded, “I don’t say no to good movies but I think there is a gang, which, due to misunderstandings, is spreading some false rumours. When Mukesh Chhabra (director of Dil Bechaara) came to me, I gave him four songs in two days. He told me, ‘Sir, many people said don’t go to him (Rahman). They told me stories after stories.’ I heard that and I realised, yes okay, now I understand why I get less (Bollywood offers) and why the good movies are not coming to me. I am doing dark films because there is a whole gang working against me. People are expecting me to do stuff but there is another gang of people preventing that from happening without them knowing that they are doing harm.”
He added, “It is fine because I believe in destiny and that everything comes from God. So I am taking my movies and doing my other stuff. All of you are welcome to come to me. Make beautiful movies, and you are welcome to come to me.”
Besides, filmmakers like Imtiaz Ali will tell you how Rahman could be one of the coolest guys to hang out with as he once cited how he took him out on an impromptu midnight drive.
Well, surely, the term “gang” used by Rahman took one back to Kangana Ranaut’s words who alleged that Bollywood “insiders” have been ganging up against her since the release of her film, Manikarnika. And she continues to use it while making her remarks over the nepotism debate. Her recent allegations against many actors and the so-called “mafia” or “nepotism gangs” of the industry have been revealing about an unsaid class-consciousness in Bollywood.
The actor’s team, post his revelation, took to Twitter and posted, “Everyone experiences harassment and bullying in this industry, especially when you act autonomous and become totally independent.”
After Team Kangana’s tweet, Rahman, to avoid any further controversies, posted, “Lost money comes back, fame comes back, but the wasted prime time of our lives will never come back. Peace! Let’s move on. We have greater things to do.” Director Shekhar Kapur later responded to the tweet by writing, “You know what your problem is Rahman? You went and got #Oscars. An Oscar is the kiss of death in Bollywood. It proves you have more talent than Bollywood can handle.”
Following the strife, sound engineer Resul Pookutty, who received the Academy Award and international acclaim for his sound mixing work in Slumdog Millionaire, also voiced his opinion on the issue. He tweeted, “Dear Shekhar Kapur, ask me about it. I had gone through near breakdown as nobody was giving me work in Hindi films and regional cinema held me tight after I won the Oscar. There were production houses telling me at my face ‘we don’t need you’ but I still love my industry for it. My work in India won me the Oscar. There will always be people to run you down but I have far more faith in my people than anybody else. It’s faced by everybody. When you are on top of the world and people reject you, it’s the biggest reality check.”
This raises many questions — Why is an Oscar Award-winner feeling he’s been ganged up against? Why did he get to know from a debutante director that there have been rumours against him in the industry? Does this call for an introspection as to how certain independent artistes — musicians, filmmakers or actors — who have been appreciated and acclaimed, have vanished over time? Or does this call for a complete investigation into the so-called “mafia” or “nepotism gangs” in Bollywood? With so much evidence piling up, the victimisation has to give way for democratisation of the industry and a grading of talent. Art must be for art’s sake and not for the patronising club.
Now that acclaimed names like Pookutty, Rahman and Shekhar Kapur have brought such an issue to attention, apart from only Kangana reigniting the flame time and again, should we assume that a ‘time’s up’ for Bollywood’s dirty stardom game is just around the corner?
