Did you know AR Rahman once refused to meet Michael Jackson? The music maestro revealed it during a meet-and-greet session at the Majestic International Convention Centre in Menara PGRM in Malaysia. In a video shared by Free Malaysia Today on YouTube, AR Rahman recalled the incident from 2009. He said, “In 2009, the beginning, I was in LA. I was with my agent. And he introduced me to another agent, he said, ‘He's my friend. He manages Michael Jackson.' I tested the waters and asked, ‘Can I meet Michael Jackson?' And he said, ‘Ah yes, sure. I will send out an email. There was no response in the first week. I was just quiet, and then I said, ‘Fine.'”
“Then the nomination happened, I got nominated for the Oscars. Then, the email came in and it said, ‘Michael Jackson wants to meet you.' But I said, ‘No, I don't want to meet him now. If I will win the Oscars, I will meet him. Otherwise, I am not going to meet him.' So, I was sure that I was going to win an Oscar. So I won the Oscar,” AR Rahman added.
AR Rahman then recounted meeting the pop icon, Michael Jackson. He shared, “Next day, I went to meet him (Michael Jackson). He was in the house, in LA. My driver dropped me. It was almost 6.30 PM. The sun was going down. And then somebody opened the door, with the gloves on. And I was high, I had won two Oscars there. I felt (on) top of the world.” FYI: AR Rahman won two Oscars in 2009 in Best Original Score and Best Original Song categories for Jai Ho, from the film Slumdog Millionaire.
AR Rahman described Michael Jackson as “kind.” He said, “It was a nice time to meet him. He was very kind. He said, ‘Oh, I love the songs, what chords you programmed.' He was talking about world peace and ‘Why don't we do the next We Are The World?' he kept asking.”
AR Rahman continued, “So all that happened. (Michael Jackson) introduced me to his kids. And I was jet-lagged, working day and night. I was waiting to go to India. So we had two hours. And he told me, ‘When I dance, I dance with my heart.'...It was unforgettable.”
AR Rahman also mentioned that after returning to India, he had an interaction with Michael Jackson, and the duo was planning to collaborate on a song. Unfortunately, that could not happen as Michael Jackson died in 2009.