Music label T-Series recently completed 30 years in the industry and a special show was organised to celebrate the occasion. Several celebrities were spotted at the event and apparently, music maestro AR Rahman was supposed to perform at the event. However, he failed to attend it due to a fatwa issued against him earlier this month.
Says a source close to the music composer, "Rahman sir was supposed to perform at the concert, but couldn't because of the recent controversy. He has personally apologised to Bhushan (Kumar, T-Series chief) and had also sent a letter to the team saying he didn't want the show to be disrupted because of him."
Earlier this month, a local Muslim group issued a fatwa against Rahman and Iranian director Majid Majidi for their work on a film titled Muhammad: Messenger of God. In the fatwa, they have called for a ban on the film, stating that the Prophet's word is that no visual or picture of him be created or kept. They claim that the project makes a mockery of Islam, and Muslims working on the film have committed sacrilege and will have to read the kalma again and solemnise their marriage one more time.
T-Series chief Bhushan Kumar says, "Rahman sir tried his best to come (for the show), but the situation was unavoidable."