AR Rahman felt Rockstar's song Kun Faya Kun would 'offend' people: 'It's directly from the Quran'

Imtiaz Ali’s film ‘Rockstar’, which achieved cult status over the years for its music and performances, starred Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri in the lead roles. Recently, Imtiaz Ali revealed that AR Rahman feared ‘Kun Faya Kun’, one of the most loved songs in the film, would end up hurting religious sentiments.
During a conversation with Ranveer Allahbadia on his podcast, Imtiaz Ali shared, “We were brainstorming about the lyrics; we wanted something nice and traditional.Irshad suggested ‘Kun Faya Kun’ to Rahman. Rahman was chakachaund at the idea, and he asked, ‘Really? Are you sure?’ I didn’t know what the words exactly meant, but both Rahman and Irshad were aware. ‘Kun Faya Kun’ is directly from the Quran. The sentiment is also invoked in the Bible, and it reminded me of a line that I’d read as a child in the Rig Veda. It basically means, ‘Be, and it was’ in the Bible, or, as I remembered it from the Vedas, ‘Then, even nothingness was not’.”
He further stated that he strongly believes that most religious texts are trying to communicate the same ideas in different languages. Whether it’s the Quran, the Bible, or the Rig Veda, when it comes to the idea of creation. The filmmaker further disclosed that they liked the lyrics but Rahman was concerned because he thought the song might offend people. He stated, “But Rahman didn’t want to offend anybody, we didn’t want to offend anybody, because whenever you talk about faith, you have to be careful because it isn’t our intention to hurt anybody. We asked around, discussed it, and finally decided to go ahead, but with sensitivity. We made sure to be careful not only with the song, but also with the visuals, because we didn’t want offend anyone.”
Ten years after its release, ‘Rockstar’ returned to theaters, attracting a large crowd of cinema buffs. Recently, a few theaters re-released the Imtiaz Ali-directed film. The movie reportedly started out as a symbolic release but it later gained momentum and earned over Rs 1 crore at the box office.