RGV breaks silence on Jai Ho viral video, calls AR Rahman ‘nicest human’

Known composer and singer AR Rahman has been grabbing headlines lately. His comments about not getting work, power dynamics, and `communal` bias in the industry went viral. Amid this controversy, an old video interview of Ram Gopal Varma went viral, in which he claimed that the Oscar-winning song Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire was composed by Sukhwinder Singh and not Rahman. However, the filmmaker, on Wednesday, took to X (Twitter) to reveal that he is being `misquoted`.

RGV claims he was misquoted

The controversy resurfaced after a video from an old interview with RGV went viral. Responding to the discussions, Varma posted on X, writing, "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)."

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… — Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) January 21, 2026

About Ram Gopal Varma’s statements

RGV recalled in an interview an incident from the sets of Yuvvraaj involving AR Rahman and Subhash Ghai. He said Rahman, known for delays, arrived from the airport and heard a song composed by Sukhwinder Singh, which he appreciated. When Rahman asked if Ghai liked the track, the filmmaker allegedly got angry and reminded Rahman of his hefty fee. Rahman reportedly responded that Ghai was paying for his name, not just his work.

Varma added, "Sukhwinder told me that Rahman later called him and asked him to complete the song and email it to him. That was it. Then, one year later, Rahman`s manager sent a cheque for 5 lakhs to Sukhwinder, and he asked why. The manager said, `You made a song for Rahman and Rahman 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."

About communal remark row

Talking about Rahman’s controversy, during an interview with BBC Asian Network, he was asked whether he ever felt prejudice in Bollywood as a Tamil composer. He said, “Maybe I never got to know of this, maybe it was concealed by God, but I didn’t feel any of this. The past eight years, maybe, because a power shift has happened, and people who are not creative have the power now. It might be a communal thing also, but it is not in my face.”

Several celebs, including Javed Akhtar, Kangana Ranaut, Shaan, Manoj Tiwari, and Paresh Rawal, have reacted to the statement and condemned it.