A R Rahman’s picture sparks debate

It all started a couple of days ago when a photo from last month’s Vijay awards surfaced online. Apparently taken backstage or in one of the dressing rooms, the picture shows actress Raadhika Sarathkumar, her daughter Rayane, another friend and Nayantara posing next to A.R.R, who stands conspicuously, two feet away from the group! From moral policing memes that confirm the purity of his character because he ‘maintained a distance’ from the women, to other saner debates, suggesting that ARR was generally reclusive by nature, the photo has gone viral. To add to the online frenzy, a photo of the maestro hugging Hollywood hottie Sharon Stone is also being much discussed.

“It was absolutely nothing like that,” Raadhika laughs. “In fact, Rahman was at his liveliest best, joking and joining in the laughter like never before. My daughter was surprised to see him like this as we know how shy he is. All us girls were hugging each other and posing for a quick one, when we spotted Rahman and asked him to join in. We couldn’t ask him to come and hug us all, could we?”

Singer Suchitra, who has worked with Rahman, adds that the legendary composer is generally someone, who does not look too excited in photos and much ado is being made about nothing. “Be it with Aamir Khan or a random fan he meets, Rahman maintains the same stoic expression. Everyone is free to interpret what they assume from the photo; but there’s nothing really to make such a fuss of.”

Anyone who thinks Rahman would be too embarrassed to hug an actress, they should take a look at the picture of him with Sharon Stone. Fellow composer Nivas Prasanna remarks, “Maybe it’s considered rude in Hollywood not to hug a celebrity when you meet them? Whatever be the case, he certainly looks comfortable and happy in that photo! It proves all these debates are pointless.”