How Shah Rukh Khan song Aaj Ki Raat was used in Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire

In the latest episode of Rahman Music Sheets, the Oscar-winning composer revealed the story of how Jai Ho was born. Rahman said he thought there was no point in using a song that the Indian audience had already heard. “Aaj Ki Raat” was filmed on Shah Rukh, Priyanka Chopra and Isha Koppikar.

“They had already shot the song with Aaj Ki Raat. I thought it was a song from another movie, so it doesn’t qualify for anything and it doesn’t seem right because Indian audience had already heard the song. So, a new song would be good. Then this song Jai Ho was done and the time stretched to exact beats per minute,” Rahman revealed.

On the episode, composer singer Shankar Mahadevan was asked about how Danny Boyle shot the video of “Jai Ho” with actors Dev Patel, Freida Pinto and a host of background dancers on Aaj Ki Raat, much before even Rahman had composed the track which got him global glory.

Mahadevan said every director uses a “dummy piece of music” for the tempo and in the case of Slumdog Millionaire, it could have also been any other music from the West or of RD Burman. Mahadevan said Rahman’s “Jai Ho” was the track which put India “on the world map” and his Don composition had no part to play in that.

“Eventually you have to change it. Rahman being the composer, all he had to do was maintain the beats per minute. If your beats per minute are 132, for Aaj Ki Raat, use the beats per minute and change the song, it is as simple as that. Jai Ho put India on the world map. Aaj Ki Raat had no role to play in that situation, it just gave Danny Boyle a tempo for the dancers to dance. That’s all, that’s the only contribution of Aaj Ki Raat for the film,” he added.