At the promotional event for 99 songs, AR Rahman walked off the stage when the anchor started speaking in Hindi. Rahman is the co-writer and producer of 99 Songs which stars Ehan Bhatt and Edilsy in the lead roles. Now, the music legend has said that it was a “joke” and not meant to be taken seriously.

“What happened is, we are doing a three language launch. Hindi is already launched and we are coming to Tamil Nadu. So there are certain kinds of protocol on the stage. We are talking to Tamil audiences who are already saying that Ehan is very fair. So I told her (the anchor) to speak in Tamil and follow the protocol,” Rahman told Bollywood Hungama. 

“I think she wanted to be kind to Ehan and he understands Hindi better and so she talked in Hindi. So I said, ‘Hindi?’ and I had to leave the stage. After that other people had to come on stage. So people put this one and one-two and that I got angry. It was a joke. It was not meant to be serious. I think it saved us a lot of money by becoming viral, spreading Ehan’s and my face,” he added.

After walking off the stage, the music composer was seen smiling in the video as he teased the anchor in Tamil, “Didn’t I ask you already if you speak in Tamil or not?” and added, “I’m joking.” She replied that it was ‘always a pleasure to be trolled by the maestro’.

99 Songs will release in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu on April 16. Presented by Jio Studios, the film is produced by AR Rahman’s production company YM Movies and co-produced by Ideal Entertainment.

Also Read: The Maestro’s New Chords: Up Close With AR Rahman