# Clearing the Air: Ram Gopal Varma's Heartfelt Tribute to AR Rahman Amid Jai Ho Controversy Did you know an **Oscar-winning song** like *Jai Ho* from *Slumdog Millionaire* sparked a viral storm, only for its critic to call AR Rahman the **greatest composer** alive? Buckle up as we dive into the drama that's got Bollywood buzzing.[4] Filmmaker **Ram Gopal Varma (RGV)** recently found himself in hot water when an old interview clip resurfaced. In it, he recounted a story from Subhash Ghai's film *Yuvvraaj*, claiming singer **Sukhwinder Singh** had composed a tune that Rahman later "sold" to *Slumdog Millionaire*—implying Rahman didn't create *Jai Ho* from scratch. Picture this: Rahman arrives late at Sukhwinder's studio, asks if he composed the song right in front of an irritated Ghai, who snaps about paying Rahman crores. Rahman fires back, "You're paying for my name, not my work," then jets off to Chennai. Later, Sukhwinder gets a ₹5 lakh cheque as his "share" from Rahman selling the track.[1][2][3][4] But hold on—RGV wasn't throwing shade. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to set the record straight: "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."[3][4][5][6] It's a classy move, turning potential beef into pure respect. This comes amid Rahman's own recent chats about Bollywood's "power shift" and "communal" vibes slowing his Hindi gigs, adding layers to the timing.[1][5] Netizens? Mixed bag. Some reposted the clip skeptically, while others praised RGV's clarification as a shutdown of trolls. Sukhwinder himself refuted the composition claims earlier, keeping the focus on Rahman's genius.[3][4]
AR Rahman in his element – the maestro behind timeless hits like Jai Ho. (Free stock image via Unsplash)
Citations
1.https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/after-claiming-ar-rahman-didnt-compose-oscar-winning-jai-ho-ram-gopal-verma-says-he-was-misquoted-10797875
2.https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/music/rgv-clarifies-jai-ho-song-remarks-puts-controversy-to-rest-1931767
3.https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/ram-gopal-varma-backtracks-after-claiming-sukhwinder-singh-made-jai-ho-not-ar-rahman-2855532-2026-01-21
4.https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/ram-gopal-varma-clarifies-his-statement-about-ar-rahman-not-composing-the-oscar-winning-song-jai-ho-calls-him-greatest-composer-and-the-nicest-human-being-netizens-react/articleshow/127036282.cms
5.https://www.mid-day.com/amp/entertainment/bollywood-news/article/ram-gopal-varma-breaks-silence-on-jai-ho-viral-video-calls-ar-rahman-nicest-human-23613058
6.https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/ram-gopal-varma-claim-sukhwinder-singh-composer-jai-ho-not-ar-rahman-10487300/
7.https://indianewengland.com/ram-gopal-varma-clarifies-remarks-on-jai-ho-calls-ar-rahman-the-nicest-human-being/
8.https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1304280
9.
---
This email was sent automatically with n8n