Did AR Rahman Steal Sukhwinder Singh's Credit For Oscar Winning Song Jai Ho?

An old interview of filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has gone viral on social media in which he implied that the Oscar winning song Jai ho was not composed by AR Rahman, but Sukhwinder Singh. Rahman has been in the news after he gave an interview in which he called Chhaava, a movie he worked on, "divisive", and further claimed that work opportunities for him in Bollywood have dried up as the Hindi film industry is getting "increasingly communal".

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While Rahman faced backlash for his remarks, an old interview of RGV resurfaced in which he shared that Rahman was attached to make a song for Shubhash Ghai's Yuvvraaj. RGV also said that Rang De Basanti composer is "notorious for delays" in delivering songs. RGV shared that Sukhwinder shared a song with Rahman on mail and he sent him ₹5 lakh for it. Later, that song won him an Oscar and featured in Danny Boyle's hit film Slumdog Millionaire.

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"Rahman 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," RGV said.

"Rahman came and asked Sukhwinder right in front of Subhash Ghai, 'Did you compose?' Sukhwinder said yes and played a song. Rahman said he liked it and asked if Subhash liked it. Subhash got angry and started shouting at Rahman, saying, 'I'm paying Rs 3 crores for you to do it... I also can get Sukhwinder to do it, why do I need you?" "Rahman replied to him, 'Mind your tongue. You're paying for my name, not for my work. Don't get confused... Rahman said this and then left for Chennai." According to RGV, Rahman later called Sukhwinder and asked him to complete the song.

"That was it, then one year later Rahman's manager sent a cheque for ₹5 lakh to Sukhwinder and then Sukhwinder asked why? The manager said, 'You made a song for Rahman and he sold it to a party and this ₹5 lakh is your share. Who did Rahman sell the song to? Slumdog Millionaire and the song Jai ho," he said in the interview.

After his comments went viral, RGV did a U turn and posted a clarification on social media. The Satya director said that he was being "misquoted" about his comments on Rahman and the credits of Jai Ho song. "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)," RGV's post on X read.

Meanwhile, after Rahman's recent comments invited backlash from his film industry associates and netizens, he issued a clarification video, claiming, "I never wished to cause pain" and hoped that "his sincerity is felt”.