AR Rahman shocked many when he suddenly announced his divorce with wife Saira Banu after nearly three decades of marriage. While the couple stayed in headlines for quite some time with many sharing their opinion and reactions on their decision, Rahman and Saira chose to be quiet all along. Now, after almost six months since their divorce, the ace music composer opened up about the whole situation of people reviewing his decision.
In a conversation with Nayandeep Rakshit on his YouTube channel shared, “The choice of being in public life is intentional so everybody gets reviewed. Right from the richest person to even the God gets reviewed, so who am I? As long as we stay together and we are not conceited or we are not toxic even the people who… because they all are family.”
Speaking about the trolls or people who badmouth online, Rahman very subtly said that he believes in karma and so do most Indians. He shared, “The thing is karma, if I say things about someone’s family, someone is going to say things about my family. And, we all Indians believe this and nobody is going to say unnecessary stuff because everybody has a sister, wife, and a mother. And even if I feel like somebody says that (about his family), I often pray, ‘please God forgive him and get them into the right thing.’”
On November 20 last year, AR Rahman took to his X handle to share the news of his divorce with his followers. He wrote, “We had hoped to reach the grand thirty, but all things, it seems, carry an unseen end. Even the throne of God might tremble at the weight of broken hearts. Yet, in this shattering, we seek meaning, though the pieces may not find their place again. To our friends, thank you for your kindness and for respecting our privacy as we walk through this fragile chapter.”
Reacting to the divorce news, Saira Banu’s lawyer Vandana Shah released a statement that read: “After many years of marriage, Mrs. Saira has made the difficult decision to separate from her husband Mr. AR Rahman. This decision comes after significant emotional strain in their relationship. Despite their deep love for each other, the couple has found that the tensions and difficulties have created an insurmountable gap between them, one that neither party feels able to bridge at this time.”
Later in March, when Rahman was admitted in a hospital after complaining about chest pain, Saira released another statement where she requested people to not call her Rahman’s ex-wife. She said in the statement, “I also wanted to tell everyone that we are not officially divorced, we are still husband and wife. It’s just that we are separated because of my health issues. Since the last two years, I haven’t been doing well, and I didn’t want to stress him out. But please, I would request the media to not call me ‘ex-wife’ as we are only separated, but all my good wishes are still with him. I also want to tell everyone, especially his family that do not give him any kind of stress and to take care of him.”
