Sukhwinder Singh refutes Ram Gopal Varma’s claims of ghost composing Jai Ho for AR Rahman: I have only sung it

Who composed the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire track Jai Ho? This has been a question popping into the heads of many after filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma claimed the man who made the song was Sukhwinder Singh and not AR Rahman. For the unversed, RGV said Singh, who has sung Jai Ho as well, ghost-composed the award-winning tack and Rahman merely got the credit.

During a recent chat, Sukhwinder cleared the air about the song and who actually composed it. The song was originally written by Gulzar for filmmaker Subhash Ghai’s Yuvvraaj starring Salman Khan in the lead.

Sukhwinder Singh refutes RGV’s Jai Ho composing claims

During a recent interaction with HT City, Sukhwinder refuted Varma’s claim of composing Jai Ho and not AR Rahman. He said, “AR Rahman has composed the song, I have only sung it. Ram Gopal Varma ji koi chhoti hasti toh nahi hain, shayad unhe kuchh galat pata chala hoga. (He is a well-known personality, maybe he heard something wrong.)” He continued, “Gulzar sahab had written this song, Rahman liked it. Then he composed it in my studio in Juhu, Mumbai. He made Subhash ji listen to it. I had not sung the song till that point in time.”

Adding that Subhash Ghai liked the song but didn’t want it for Yuvvraaj, Sukhwinder Singh said, “He said the character for whom he wanted a song had become naughty in the story, this song wasn’t fitting. He wanted a more masaledaar song. He told Rahman, but he insisted that this was nice. I too said ‘thode changes kar do’ (tweak it a little), but Subhash ji said poora gaana hi alag chahiye. (the full song will have to be changed)”

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He continued, “Then he left, Rahman left. I was sad. I requested Gulzar sahab to stay back for 10-15 minutes. He asked why, to which I replied he had written it so well, let me try singing. Naachte kudte maine gaa diya (I very happily sang the song). It was the same Jai Ho you listen to today. I sent it across to Rahman sahab, who in turn made it listen to Danny Boyle, director of Slumdog Millionaire. Rahman also kept his promise and gave another song to Subhash ji for Yuvvraaj.”

Singh on singing Jai Ho

Sukhwinder Singh added that had he sung and then made Subhash Ghai listen to Jai Ho, the decision would have been different. The singer said, “Awaaz ka bhi asar hota hai. Danny Boyle ko meri awaaz mein pasand aa gaya. Gaate huye thoda bauahut tadka toh khud lagana hi padhta hai, maine mauj ke liye gaake Rahman ko bheja tha, ki shayad kisi film mein kaam aa jaaye. Mujhko lagta hai shayad agar Subhash ji ko gaake sunaya hota toh baat alag hoti. Aadhe ghante mein I had recorded Jai Ho. (A singer’s voice affects a song. Danny Boyle liked the song when he heard it in my voice. When one sings, they add flavour to it with emotions. I feel if Ghai heard Jai Ho in my voice he would like it too. I recorded the song in half an hour.)”

Jai Ho won several accolades including an Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. It was also the official campaign song of the Indian National Congress during the 2009 election. American girl group, Pussycat Dolls recorded an English interpretation of ‘Jai Ho’ titled ‘Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny).

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