Ram Gopal Varma Backtracks on Jai Ho Song Authorship Claim

Director Ram Gopal Varma has issued a public clarification after renewed scrutiny over his comments regarding the authorship of the Oscar-winning song Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire. The controversy resurfaced after a video from an old interview with RGV resurfaced, in which Varma claimed singer Sukhwinder Singh was the creator of the Slumdog Millionaire track, rather than AR Rahman, who received the Academy Award for composing the song. advertisement Responding to the discussions, Varma posted on X, writing, "To all concerned .. I am being misquoted and misread out of context in the matter of the Jai ho song . .. in my view @arrahman is the greatest composer and the nicest human being I ever met and he’s the last person to take away anybody’s credit ..I hope this puts an end to the negativism surrounding the issue (sic)." The resurfaced interview features Varma recounting events involving AR Rahman, filmmaker Subhash Ghai, and Sukhwinder Singh. According to Varma, Rahman was delayed in delivering music for Subhash Ghai’s film Yuvraj, leading to a series of interactions between the artists. In the interview, Varma can be seen saying, "Rahman was doing a film called Yuvraj for Subhash Ghai. He is notorious for delays. Subhash Ghai messaged Rahman. He said, 'I have dates for Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif. I have a set. If you don't give me songs, what will happen?' He sent a very harsh mail to Rahman, he was in London at that time. So Rahman called and said, 'I'll come to Bombay. Come to Sukhwinder Singh Studio in Bombay. I'll come there and sing your song'." Varma then described an incident at Sukhwinder Singh’s studio that left Subhash Ghai frustrated. "He agreed and went to Sukhwinder Studio two days later... Rahman came in and said, 'hi, hi', asked Sukhwinder right in front of Subhash Ghai, 'Did you compose (the song)?' Sukhwinder said yes, played a song, and Rahman said he liked it and asked if Subhash liked it. Subhash got angry and started shouting at Rahman saying, 'I am paying you three crores for you to do it... I also can get Sukhwinder to do it, why do I need you?" Varma claimed Rahman addressed Ghai’s anger by clarifying his professional role. He said, "Don't get confused. Do you know where I get the key parts? Do you know where I get your other films? My driver can do it, my maali can do it, I can buy it from someone, I can do anything. I am giving you my name. Point no. 1, you are paying me to say Music by AR Rahman. Point 2, tell me if you like it or not. If you don't like it, I'll do another thing." advertisement Continuing, Varma alleged in the interview that Rahman asked Sukhwinder Singh to complete the song and send it to him. " Sukhwinder told me that Rahman later called him and asked him to complete the song and e-mail it to him. That was it. Then, one year later, Rahman's manager sent a cheque for Rs 5 lakh to Sukhwinder, and he asked why? The manager said, 'You made a song, a song for Rahman, and he sold it to a party and this Rs 5 lakh is your share'. Who did Rahman sell the song to? Slumdog Millionaire. And the song? Jai Ho." After these statements went viral, Sukhwinder Singh refuted Varma's claims about his role in composing the song. In an interview with Hindustan Times, the singer clarified, saying, "I have only sung it. Ram Gopal Varma ji koi chhoti hasti toh hai nahi, shayad unhe kuch galat pata chala hoga (Ram Gopal Varma is not a novice. He must have been misinformed)." Despite the ownership controversy, AR Rahman is credited as the composer, while Sukhwinder Singh is credited as the singer of Jai Ho – a track that won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. - Ends