Bass guitar player Mohini Dey has rubbished link-up rumors with former collaborator and "role model" AR Rahman and pleaded the media to be gentle while she is going through her separation from ex-husband Mark Hartsuch.
Dey hogged the limelight last week after she announced her split with Hartsuch, also a musician, hours after Rahman shared a statement about parting ways with Saira Banu, his wife of 29 years.
After the dual announcements, several social media users went on to connect Dey, 28, and Rahman, 57, together, a claim she denied on Monday in an Instagram post.
"It is utterly unbelievable to see the amount of misinformation and baseless assumptions/claims against me & @arrahman.".
"I honour my times as a kid working with @arrahman throughout my 8.5 years of working with him for his movies, tours, etc. Kindly stop with the false claims and respect our privacy," the bassist wrote in the caption of the video.
Dey's post comes days after Rahman issued a warning to individuals speculating about his separation from Banu.
In the clip shared on Instagram, Dey said she respects Rahman as a father figure.
"I've got a lot of father figures, role models in life, and I have really been fortunate and grateful for them to have played their parts in my life so vividly. AR happens to be one of them. By AR, I mean AR Rahman. I respect him a lot. He is just like my father.".
"He is a little bit younger than my dad. His daughter is exactly my age, I think. We have a lot of respect and love for each other. Anyway, long story short. Please be kind and respect our privacy. It's a personal matter, and it's painful. It's a painful process. So please be kind," she said in the video.
Dey, a musical genius who started her professional career at the age of 11, has collaborated extensively with Rahman and performed with him in over 40 shows worldwide. She has shared the stage with some other music legends such as Zakir Hussain, Sivamani, Steve Vai, Marco Minnemann, among others.
Rahman and Banu, who have been married since 1995, announced their split on November 19, in a joint statement.
The couple said they had been forced to take the separation decision due to "significant emotional strain in their relationship."
On Saturday, Rahman posted a three-page legal notice to those airing defamatory and "objectionable" material against him and his family.
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