DYK the AR Rahman's Oscar winning song Jai Ho was originally created for this Katrina Kaif film?

Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire completed 15 years of its release earlier this week. pathbreaking 2008 film set against backdrop of Mumbai underbelly won multiple Oscars, most notably bagging 2 awards for A.R.Rahman for best Original Score and best Original Score.

Jai Ho, song that won Rahman latter, h particularly become a worldwide anm, and A.R.Rahman suddenly found himself a global fandom. However, very few people are aware of two particular aspects related to song - one is that Jai Ho was never composed for Danny Boyle film at first place, and secondly, re was no place for Jai Ho in first cut of Slumdog Millionaire.

Jai Ho was initially composed for a Subhash Ghai film?

In an interview with Youtube Channel O2 India, A.R.Rahman confirmed that he was initially developing song for anor film titled Yuvvraaj, which was being me by veteran filmmaker Subhash Ghai. However, after a few initial discussions, both of m mutually decided that tune and staging of Jai Ho is too grand for situation in Yuvvraaj, for which it was being conceived - a conventional club dance number featuring Zayed Khan. At same time, Rahman confirmed in same interview that phrase ‘Jai Ho’ was suggested by Subhash Ghai himself, and that Rahman chose to keep it when he later pitched tune to Danny Boyle during ir Slumdog Millionaire. 

Strangely enough, in same interview video for O2 India, Jai Ho’s lyricist Gulzar confirmed that Subhash Ghai h no role in coinage of Jai Ho phrase or rest of song composition.

Danny Boyle h originally shot dance sequence with anor Hindi song

But more fascinating aspect about Jai Ho is that it was developed and composed for film long after Danny Boyle was done shooting song sequence. Boyle h earlier shot sequence using song Aaj ki Raat from 2006 film Don, before he realised that y do not have required permission to use song. Stuck in a weird conundrum, Boyle approached A.R.Rahman to compose a song that would fit in same rhythm as Aaj Ki Raat. That’s how Rahman created final Jai Ho composition, and now all that Boyle h to do was just visual frame rate of his sequence - and now, Jai Ho was officially a part of his Slumdog Millionaire narrative with everything else perfectly in place.

And rest, as we know, is history.