Did you know it was Sukhwinder Singh who composed AR Rahman's Oscar-winning song Jai Ho
Ram Gopal Varma claims that Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman got singer Sukhwinder to compose the tune of Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire.
AR Rahman may have gotten a Grammy Award for Jai Ho, the song from Danny Boyle's 2008 British film Slumdog Millionaire, but it was singer Sukhwinder Singh who was behind the tune of the track. In an interview with Film Companion, Rahman's former associate and filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma spilled the beans on how Jai Ho came to be. (Also Read – When Taylor Swift said AR Rahman is a fantastic musician: ‘His music touches the soul’)
Jai Ho initially composed for Yuvvraaj
Ram Gopal Varma revealed that Jai Ho was initially composed for Subhash Ghai's 2008 film Yuvvraaj, starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. However, the veteran filmmaker decided that Jai Ho doesn't fit into his film's soundscape, so Rahman eventually used it for the Academy Award-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, which released in the same year.
While this is still a known fact, Ram Gopal Varma further revealed that Rahman actually got Sukhwinder to compose the tune of Jai Ho. Since Rahman was away in London, and Subhash Ghai was waiting for him to deliver the album as he had to start filming, he sought help from longtime collaborator Sukhwinder, who then composed the track.
When Subhash Ghai confronted Rahman
When Subhash Ghai found out that not Rahman, but Sukhwinder has composed the tune, he lost it. "Subhash Ghai blew up the thing, he told Rahman, ‘I am paying you crores of rupees as my music director and you are making Sukhvinder make a tune for me. You have the guts to say that in front of me? If I want Sukhvinder, I’ll sign him, who are you to take my money and make Sukhvinder do the music for me?’”
Ram Gopal Varma then spelled out Rahman's response, which he thinks “is the greatest I've heard in my life.” “Rahman said, ‘Sir, you are paying for my name, not my music. If I am endorsing it, it becomes mine. Now you happen to be here, how do you know where I took Taal music from? My driver could have done it, maybe someone else, whatever else’,” Ram Gopal Varma recalled.
Ram Gopal Varma and AR Rahman have worked together on albums like Rangeela and Daud. On the other hand, Sukhwinder has sung memorable songs for Rahman, like Chaiyya Chaiyya, Ramta Jogi, Mitwa (Lagaan), Ghanan Ghanan, Taal Se Taal - Western, and Jai Ho.