Abhijeet Accuses AR Rahman of Making Esteemed Artists Wait for Hours

Playback artist Abhijeet Bhattacharya has recently condemned renowned composer AR Rahman, claiming that he used to make top-notch artists wait hours at his studio without meeting them. He was taken aback at the disrespect given to artists, most of whom had been conferred prestigious Indian awards such as the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.

Reminiscing about his session recording the song Ae Nazneen Suno Na for the 1999 film Dil Hi Dil Mein, Abhijeet informed us that when he was at Rahman’s place, he saw some famous musicians, including Padma awardees, sitting on a bench for almost three hours waiting. He informed us that Rahman did not step out downstairs to greet or meet them for those three hours. “All were conversing with one another to while away the time.”. I kept glancing at my watch,” Abhijeet continued, mentioning that Rahman never came down when he visited.

He also revealed that he sang the song with Rahman’s assistant and left the recording studio without even meeting the composer. “This is how Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardees were treated,” he said, pointing out what he felt was a lack of respect for such highly revered persons in the Indian music world.

AR Rahman, himself a Padma Bhushan awardee in 2010, has himself only collaborated with Abhijeet once for this very song. The Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan are the fourth and third-highest civilian awards in India, honoring exceptional work in a number of fields.