The song Jai Ho from Danny Boyle's 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire took AR Rahman and his music to the global stage and there was no looking back for him. The song won several awards including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and even the coveted Grammy to name a few.
It is a known fact that the track was originally created for Subhash Ghai's 2008 film Yuvvraaj but anyone barely knows that not AR Rahman but singer Sukhwinder Singh originally created the tune of Jai Ho
Ram Gopal Varma spills the tea behind the creation of Jai Ho
In a recent interview with Film Companion, Ram Gopal Varma yet again detailed how Subhash Ghai found the song a misfit in his film Yuvvraaj starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif. This made Rahman use the song later in the year for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. What is more interesting is that according to RGV, Rahman asked Sukhwinder to create the tune as he was in London at that time.
The song was a little urgent for Subhash Ghai as he had to begin shooting of the film. It was then that Rahman’s longtime collaborator Sukhwinder came to his rescue and created this masterpiece. Ram Gopal Varma revealed that Ghai lost it after knowing that Rahman made Sukhwinder compose Jai Ho.
RGV shared, "Subhash Ghai blew up the thing, he told Rahman, ‘I am paying you crores of rupees as my music director and you are making Sukhwinder make a tune for me. You have the guts to say that in front of me? If I want Sukhwinder, I’ll sign him, who are you to take my money and make Sukhwinder do the music for me?’”
Calling AR Rahman's response to it “the greatest I've heard in my life”, RGV shared, “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’.”
