“Jai Ho!” is the triumphant ending song of Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire. AR Rahman has long enjoyed success as a Bollywood composer in his native India, and now he’s getting crossover appeal. He’s gone from having a loyal following in India to receiving critical acclaim in America. It’s unexpected success for him, just like the hero Jamal in “Slumdog Millionaire.” His Lord of the Rings musical collaboration has some fans among the Tolkien geeks, but “Slumdog Millionaire” appeals to everyone.

“Jai Ho” was originally composed for the 2008 film Yuvvraaj, but was turned down by director Subhash Ghai who thought the song was not suitable for actor Zayed Khan to perform onscreen. After its inclusion in Slumdog Millionaire, it was later nominated for best song at the 2008 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, the 2008 Satellite Awards and at the 2008 Houston Film Critics Society Awards. In 2009, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, beating out WALL-E’s “Down to Earth” by Peter Gabriel, and “O… Saya”, also of Slumdog Millionaire and by A. R. Rahman.

In translation, the title means “Praise”, “Hail”, “Hallelujah”, “Victory”, or “Vive”. The lyrics are mostly in Hindi, interspersed with some Spanish lyrics. Rahman, who performed “Jai Ho” live on The Oprah Winfrey Show on February 23, 2009 with the rest of the original performers, was asked by Winfrey what the song title means. A.R. Rahman then stated “Jai Ho” means “May Victory be Yours”. It is the highest charting Hindi language song in the history of iTunes.
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