AR Rahman faces backlash for working with harassment-accused Jani Master on Ram Charan's Chikiri Chikiri: ‘Hypocrisy’

OScar-winning composer AR Rahman has found himself at the centre of arguing because of his collaborationism with choreographer Jani get the hang on Chikiri Chikiri vocal for pound Charan's Peddi.The move has sparked outrage on social media as Jani was previously accused of sexually harassing an assistant choreographer when she was a minor. Social media users have expressed their disappointment, calling Rahman’s decision “insensitive”.Rahman collaborates with JaniOn November 9, Jani took to Instagram to share photographs with AR Rahman and Peddi director Buchi Babu Sana after he choreographed the Chikiri Chikiri song for the Ram Charan-starrer.Sharing the pictures, Jani wrote, “We grew up watching and dancing to Legendary @arrahman Sir’s songs and I can’t believe I choreographed this chartbuster #ChikiriChikiri in his composition. Thank you for your kind words of support Sir… Grateful for the opportunity Mega Power Star @alwaysramcharan Anna #BuchiBabuSana garu @rathnaveludop Sir & entire @peddimovieoffl movie Team (folded hand emoji).”Rahman faces backlashAs soon as the photos surfaced online, several social media users criticised Rahman’s decision to work with Jani. Many questioned why the composer chose to collaborate with someone accused of sexual assault. One pointed out how Rahman stopped working with Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu, who had nearly 20 complaints from women against him.One comment on Reddit platform read, “It's hard to believe that he doesn't know about his allegations”, with another mentioning, “The entire film industry doesn’t give a flying f**k about sexual assault, just recently Mari Selvaraj and Nivas decided to work with Vedan despite all his allegations and nobody called them out for it.”One comment read, “The film industry is rotten”, with one reading, “How is jani any different from vairamuthu, if ARR outright rejected vairamuthu why doesn't he do the same to this pdf.”“Posing with an ex felon. A lot of celebs have selective amnesia but I truly didn’t expect this from ARR,” one shared, with one writing, “So due to the lack of good men, we are now recycling pedophiles, rapists and molesters?”One wrote, “Never expected this from Rahman. He stopped working with talented Singer Karthik. I respect his principle. But why is he comfortable working with Jani? Might as well Collab with Karthik as well. Say no to hypocrisy.” One wrote, “Wasn’t he expelled from the dancers association for POCSO charges? Then how’s he getting chances again to work?And ARR choosing to not work with Vairamuthu for a case that’s not been charged while happily posing with a pedo who’s under bail is something I can’t wrap around.”Another posted, “Film Industry is still feeding Rapists Misogynist & the So called Big celebrities never failed to disappoint me.”Accusations against Jani MasterLast year in September, Jani Master was apprehended in Goa by the Cyberabad police and brought to Hyderabad and produced before a city court which remanded him to 14-day judicial custody. A woman, who worked as Jani Master's assistant choreographer, in a complaint with the police, had alleged that Jani Master had sexually assaulted her in 2020 during a work trip to Mumbai and continued sexual harassment and also threatened her not to disclose it to anyone.On September 15, the Narsingi Police had registered a case under sections 376(2)(n), 506, 323 of IPC. On recording her statement, it was disclosed that she was a minor at the time of the alleged offence. Therefore, a relevant section of the POCSO Act, 2012, was added, police said at that time.Jani Master's National Film Award was suspended by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting due to rape allegations against him. He is currently out on bail.More about Chikiri ChikiriThe song Chikiri Chikiri from Buchi Babu Sana’s Peddi was released earlier this month. Within 24 hours, the song, starring Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor, went on to garner a collective 46 million views across all languages in which it has been released.Chikiri Chikiri is composed by AR Rahman and features vocals by Mohit Chauhan or AR Ameen, depending on the language. Chikiri Chikiri features Ram squatting while pulling off a hook step and smoking a beedi. Jani Master, who is out on bail for the alleged sexual assault of a minor, is the choreographer of the hook step.Peddi is directed by Buchi Babu Sana, who debuted in Tollywood with the 2021 hit film Uppena. The film stars Ram Charan, Janhvi Kapoor, Shiva Rajkumar, Jagapathi Babu and Divyendu Sharma. It tells the story of a rural cricket, if the film’s first glimpse is anything to go by. The film will be released in theatres on March 27, 2026.