Lal Salaam: AR Rahman Thought Aishwarya's Film Starring Rajinikanth Is 'Cringe'

Aishwarya Rajinikanth is gearing up for the release of her upcoming directorial, Lal Salaam, starring Vishnu Vishal and Vikranth. Last month, the director organised an audio launch in Chennai where AR Rahman, candidly spoke about how the film turned out to be completely different to what he had expected.

I thought it would be cringy: AR Rahman

Speaking at the launch event, AR Rahman recalled when Aishwarya first told him the story of Lal Salaam. He thought it would be "preachy", "boring" and "cringy". “When Aishwarya first told me the film’s story, I thought - this film is going to be boring da. I thought it would be preachy," the composer said.

However, when he saw the film, his mind changed. What he thought would be cringy turned out to be completely different.  "I asked her who wrote the dialogues for the film and she said - I wrote and Appa (father) changed them a bit. I realised it was Rajinikanth’s wisdom, he respects everything and researched well for the film,” he concluded.

AR Rahman on using AI songs in Lal Salaam

The Oscar-winning music composed opened up about the mixed response to using late singer Bamba Bakya and Shahul Hameed’s voices for the song Thimiri Yezhuda. Taking to his X handle, he clarified that he took permission from their families before using their voices. "We took permission from their families and sent deserving remuneration for using their voice algorithms... technology is not a threat and a nuisance if we use it right…#respect #nostalgia," he wrote.

Lal Salaam also stars Rajinikanth in a cameo appearance. The film also stars Vignesh, Livingston, Senthil, Jeevitha, KS Ravikumar and Thambi Ramaiah in supporting roles. After numerous delays, the film is slated for release on February 9.