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New Delhi: Calling A R Rahman the nicest human being, Ram Gopal Varma on Wednesday clarified that he is being quoted out of context in an old interview where he talks about how the composer came up with the Oscar-winning "Slumdog Millionaire" track "Jai Ho".

Rahman has faced criticism for saying in an interview with BBC Asian Network that the volume of work coming his way in Hindi cinema has declined over the past eight years. He attributed it to a “power shift” within the industry and suggesting that it might be a “communal thing”.

A clip of Varma's old interview resurfaced on social mediaA in which he appears to suggest that Rahman did not compose "Jai Ho", and that singer Sukhwinder Singh was responsible for the music in addition to lending his voice to the track.

As the video trended on X, Varma shared a post, saying he has been misquoted.

"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)," wrote the filmmaker, who had famously collaborated with Rahman for his film "Rangeela".

In the short clip, RGV narrated an incident when Rahman worked on filmmaker Subhash Ghai's 2008 movie "Yuvvraaj", starring Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif.

"Rahman is notorious for delays. Subhash Ghai messaged Rahman. He said, 'I have dates for Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif. I have a set. If you don't give me songs, what will happen?' He sent a very harsh mail to Rahman, he was in London at that time. So Rahman called and said, I'll come to Bombay. Come to Sukhwinder Singh Studio in Bombay. I'll come there and sing your song," Varma said.

The director said the trio then met at Singh's studio two days later.

"Rahman came and asked Sukhwinder right in front of Subhash Ghai, 'Did you compose?' Sukhwinder said yes and played a song. Rahman said he liked it and asked if Subhash liked it. Subhash got angry and started shouting at Rahman, saying, 'I'm paying Rs 3 crores for you to do it... I also can get Sukhwinder to do it, why do I need you?' "Rahman replied to him, 'Mind your tongue. You're paying for my name, not for my work. Don't get confused... Rahman said this and then left for Chennai." According to Varma, Rahman later called Singh and asked him to complete the song.

"That was it, then one year later Rahman's manager sent a cheque for 5 lakhs to Sukhwinder and then Sukhwinder asked why? The manager said, 'You made a song for Rahman and he sold it to a party and this Rs 5 lakhs is your share.' Who did Rahman sell the song to? 'Slumdog Millionaire' and the song Jai ho," Varma said in the interview.

Rahman went on to win the Academy Award for best song for "Jai Ho", sharing it with veteran lyricist Gulzar. He also bagged the Oscar for best original score for his work on the Danny Boyle-directed film.