The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has rubbished Ismail Darbar’s allegation against AR Rahman that he ‘bought’ his Oscar for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in 2009 but denied any action against the Indian music composer. “The Academy does not plan any action relative to Darbar`s comments. It is simply not possible to `buy` an Academy Award. While some individuals might disagree with the results of our voting processes, the Academy stands behind the integrity of the voting,” the Academy’s publicist told reporters in an e-mail. Darbar told a daily, “I just don’t understand how the music for that movie (`Slumdog Millionaire`) won the prestigious award. What was Oscar-worthy about it? Nothing.
I would have been happy had he won it for films like `Roja` or `Bombay`. He did not deserve it. And, I know that it has been bought,” said Darbar. “Rahman is a very good businessman. He knows how to handle his public relations. I will yet again say that he has bought the Oscar. I have proof that `Jai Ho` is not his. It has been done by someone else. All the big filmmakers like Subhash Ghai, Mani Ratnam know about it.” Media reports indicated that the Academy was planning to sue Darbar for $50 million for his adverse comments, but it turns out that these were just rumours. In 2009, Rahman won two Oscars – for the best original score for ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ as well as for the best original song ‘Jai ho’ for the same movie.
