Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma recently accused music composer AR Rahman of taking Sukhwinder Singh’s credit for the song “Jai Ho.” However, he has now referred to the music maestro as the “nicest human being.”
Clarification on the Misquote
In light of the ongoing debate, Varma took to X to express that he had been misquoted during an interview. He clarified, “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.”
Rahman’s Recent Remarks
AR Rahman has been in the headlines after he stated that his work in the Hindi film industry has diminished over the past eight years due to a “power shift” and “communal” politics within the entertainment sector.
Viral Interview Resurfaces
In a resurfaced interview that went viral, Varma claimed that AR Rahman was not the original composer behind the Oscar-winning song “Jai Ho” from “Slumdog Millionaire.” He stated that the song had originally been composed by singer Sukhwinder Singh.
In the interview clip, Varma recounted an incident related to the film “Yuvraj,” starring Salman Khan, during which he alleged that Rahman had sourced the tune from Sukhwinder Singh in a studio session and later sold the song, which eventually became “Jai Ho.” Varma further alleged that Sukhwinder was paid Rs. 5 lakh as compensation through Rahman’s management.
Rahman’s Response on the Controversy
Regarding the controversy linked to his “communal” remarks, Rahman shared a video message on social media, clarifying that he never intended to hurt anyone’s sentiments and expressed regret if his words had caused anyone pain.