Chinmayi says she asked AR Rahman about working with harassment accused Jani Master: ‘He had no idea’

After AR Rahman was criticised for working with harassment-accused Jani Master in Peddi, Chinmayi says she questioned the music composer.

Music composer AR Rahman is facing flak for working with choreographer Jani Master, who was accused of sexual harassment of a minor and is now out on bail. When singer Chinmayi Sripaada, who has been a frequent collaborator with Rahman, was asked why she didn’t call him out, she revealed that she had in fact questioned the composer.

Chinmayi was criticised for not calling out AR Rahman for working with Jani.

Chinmayi says she questioned Rahman for working with Jani

After Rahman received flak for working with Jani and posing for a picture with him, an X (formerly Twitter) user called out Chinmayi for not questioning him. They wrote, “I think Akka will keep quiet because it’s is Rahman. Hypocrisy is an attribute of hers!!” Chinmayi hit back at them with, “OH please shut up. I asked Sir - and he had no idea. I have called out even the CM and the biggest actors in Tamil film industry.”

She also pointed out that ever since she named her alleged harasser, lyricist Vairamuthu, she has been dragged to court, writing, “YOU ARE NOT the one going to Court and getting harassed. So stop haranguing me when other powerful men employ a molester. YOU All can call out your idols I cannot keep doing the work all the time. I have done, lost enough, been abused enough, harassed enough. You are an anonymous handle on Twitter with nothing to lose.”

Rahman collaborates with Jani for Peddi

On November 9, Jani Master took to Instagram to share pictures he clicked with Rahman and Peddi director Buchi Babu Sana. He choreographed the song Chikiri Chikiri from the film, which features Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor. As soon as the pictures surfaced, many took to social media to criticise the composer for working with the choreographer and posing for pictures with him. “It's hard to believe that he doesn't know about his allegations,” read a comment on Reddit.

The case against Jani Master

For the unversed, Jani Master was apprehended in Goa and brought to Hyderabad in September last year. A woman who worked as his assistant choreographer alleged that he had sexually assaulted her in 2020 during a work trip to Mumbai, and he continued to harass her, apart from threatening her. It was disclosed in the statement that she was a minor at the time of the alleged offence, and a POCSO Act was added to the other sections. Jani’s National Film Award was suspended due to the allegations. He is currently out on bail.