'Was Taking Selfie, 100 People Looked At Me': A.R Rahman On Being The Only Brown Guy At H'wood Party

Indians have not always been well-represented in Hollywood. The ground reality could gradually shift with actors like Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone.

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But how does it feel to be the only 'Brown Guy' as a musician?

Things were not the same almost a decade ago when AR Rahman was actively working in the West.

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During a recent chat on The Good Time Show's YouTube channel, Rahman recalled many instances where he was the only brown person in the room.

A.R Rahman addressed his exposure in Hollywood, especially after winning an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire.

Rahman was quoted as saying,

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"The doors that opened were¡­ everyone knows me in Hollywood even if I don¡¯t know them. I was the only brown guy, I think," he said.

Rahman recalled how he frequently received party invitations after receiving the Oscar and joining the Academy.

"Because I¡¯m a member of the Academy, I¡¯ll get all those invitations. Spielberg invites you, JJ Abrams invites you, Disney invites you, so I went for everything," he said.

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Rahman admitted that before this, he had never had the time to attend any parties, but while in Los Angeles, he made it a point to enjoy himself to the fullest. He said,

"So all the stuff I never did. I met people, and even though I would not stay there much, I would just stay for 10-15 minutes because of loud music, people drinking, and claustrophobia. So I will just say hey¡­ (and leave),"

But one incident stuck out in his mind: he was at a Disney party for the 2013 film Frozen. At around the same time, Walt Disney celebrated his 90th birthday.

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Talking about being the 'only brown guy' in the room, Rahman said,

"I remember going to the Disney party, and I was doing Million Dollar Arm (at the time), so they invited me to the Frozen (party). It was also the 90th birthday of Walt Disney, so there was a statue of him. So I was taking a selfie (with the statue), I look back, and 100 people were looking at me. I was the only brown person there."

In 2009, Rahman won Best Original Score and Best Original Song for his work on Slumdog Millionaire.

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