'Fellow South Asian, Tamil': A R Rahman Holds Concert To Support Kamala Harris In US Presidential Elections

Music composer and singer A R Rahman voiced his support for United States (US) Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris for the presidential elections by headlining a concert in her honor.

Harris's mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher in California, originally hailed from Chennai (formerly Madras), the same city where Rahman was born. This was mentioned by the music composer.

"As a fellow South Asian, Tamil, person, I’m deeply proud of her commitment to making the world a better place," Rahman said praising Harris's campaign focusing on 'uniting instead of dividing'.

Harris's mother was of Indian origin, while her father is Black and from Jamaica. In her book, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, Harris reflects on being primarily raised by her mother, who, along with her relatives, instilled a deep sense of pride in their South Asian heritage.

Harris explains that she and her sister, Maya, were brought up with a strong connection to Indian culture. However, she also notes that her mother recognized that in the US, they would be perceived as Black, and thus raised them to be "confident, proud Black women."

The concert, which was pre-recorded and aired on the evening of 13 October, was organised by the AAPI Victory Fund, a Super PAC backing Harris and other Asian American candidates.

During the event, Rahman performed several popular songs, including "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire and "Singapenney" (meaning "lioness") from the Tamil film Bigil. He was joined by drummer Veeramani and performed duets with singer and voice actor Chinmayi Sripada.

Shekhar Narasimhan, the India-born founder of AAPI, encouraged participants to actively engage in the upcoming elections. "You have to make a plan to vote. You have to volunteer in this campaign, and you have to donate,” he said.

He highlighted that 4 lakh Indian American voters in seven key battleground states—Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina—could play a decisive role in the election outcome.