When AR Rahman composed a Backstreet Boys-like song and saved lakhs of rupees for Mani Ratnam

December 20 marked 21 years of Shaad Ali's marriage drama Saathiya. The film, which starred Vivek Oberoi and Rani Mukerji in the lead, was actually a remake of Mani Ratnam's 2000 hit Alai Payuthey. One of the most iconic songs of the film Endrendrum Punnagai has a very interesting story about how it came into being.

Rahman decided to compose a song like Backstreet Boys' chartbuster

When Mani Ratnam was shooting Alai Payuthey, they needed a song for a sequence where the male protagonist is particularly elated during an evening bike ride, and is grooving along on his ride. Ratnam was very insistent on using a certain Backstreet Boys song he had heard some time ago. Co-incidentally, the record label for Alai Payuthey, also owned the rights for Everybody, the Backstreet Boys song Mani Ratnam wanted.

However, when HMV approached the parent company for song rights, the price quoted by their team sent Ratnam and his team into a tizzy. It was simply unaffordable for a modest film production from India like Ratnam’s.

This was when Ratnam approached Rahman to compose an original song that had a similar rhythm pattern and vibe. Rahman came up with the funky Endrendrum Punnagai (which 2 years later, nation-wide music lovers came to know as O Humdum Suniyo Re when it played in Saathiya.) Rahman’s composition belonged to the exact same school of music and feel - except it was an original. Not only did Rahman end up saving Ratnam millions of rupees while staying true to the film’s creative energy.

Ratnam asked the same price for Chaiyya Chaiyya, 6 years later

But co-incidentally, this composition paid off a few years later in a rather poetic way. When Spike Lee was making Inside Man a few years later, he wanted a thump-filled song for a situation, and his music team recommended Chaiyya Chaiyya to him, the song from 1998 film Dil Se, directed by Mani Ratnam for which AR Rahman had composed the music. This time, however, it was Ratnam who owned the rights to a song that a biggie from Hollywood wanted.

When Inside Man team reached out to Ratnam, Ratnam reportedly quoted the exact same price that Backstreet Boys’ representative had quoted years ago during making of Alai Payuthey. This time, though, Ratnam got what he wanted and the Inside Man paid that astronomical price for a song that was composed by Rahman, and directed by Ratnam.