Ram Gopal Varma shares AR Rahman delayed working on Rangeela music for TV: ‘Wanted to hit him’

In a new interview, Ram Gopal Varma admitted that working with AR Rahman on the music of Rangeela wasn’t smooth sailing.

As Rangeela gears up for a theatrical re-release, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has looked back on working with Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman on the film’s music. He admitted that Rahman took a long time to deliver some of the tracks, adding that delays left him so annoyed that, at one point, he even felt like hitting him.

AR Rahman composed the music for Rangeela.

RGV looks back

Ram Gopal Varma recently looked back at working with AR Rahman on the music of Rangeela, especially Hai Rama. In an interview with Pinkvilla, the filmmaker admitted that it wasn’t smooth sailing.

“We went to Goa for the composition of the Hai Rama song. We were there for five days. First day he told me, ‘Ramu, I’m just thinking of something, I’ll make you listen tomorrow.’ Second day he said something else. Third day he said something… all five days he was not doing anything. And then he said, ‘I’ll do one thing, I’ll go to Chennai and I will send you from there,” RGV shared.

The filmmaker added, “And then he told me, ‘Next time you get me to a hotel, make sure there is no TV. Because all this time I was watching TV.’ I wanted to hit him, you know. But then, when he finally came up with that Hai Rama song, obviously, I guess for great things one needs to have the patience to wait. And it’s worth it at the end of the day, which is what he proved.”

About Rangeela

In Rangeela, Urmila Matondkar played Mili, a woman from a middle-class family, who aspires to be an actor. She is caught in a love triangle as her childhood friend Munna (Aamir Khan) and the lead actor of her film, Raj (Jackie Shroff), both fall for her. The film was not only a blockbuster but was lauded by critics as well. Released on September 8, 1995, the film was directed by Ram Gopal Varma. AR Rahman composed the music for the film.