Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) has revealed that he once felt like hitting AR Rahman because of delays in delivering the music for the film Rangeela. The revelation came as RGV spoke about the first time he heard the song "Hai Rama" from the movie.

RGV wanted a very erotic song, referencing "Kaate Nahi Katte" from Mr. India. He described to Rahman how he wanted to shoot it, and Rahman came up with the tune for "Hai Rama". RGV's initial reaction was one of disbelief. He thought Rahman had gone mad and sent him something else by mistake, "some classical Carnatic raga". RGV even called Rahman to confront him, asking how the tune could fit the erotic situation he had described. Rahman simply replied that it was made for the same situation.

According to RGV, the composition of "Hai Rama" took place in Goa over five days. He recounted that Rahman spent the first day just thinking and would make him listen later. It seems Rahman's creative process involved a degree of procrastination that tested Varma's patience.

Despite his initial reservations, RGV eventually came around after repeatedly listening to the CD. The tune got stuck in his head, and he realized the magic of Rahman's composition.

The 1995 musical Rangeela starred Jackie Shroff, Aamir Khan, and Urmila Matondkar. Rangeela announced RGV's arrival in the film industry, with much of the credit going to the film's chart-topping soundtrack by AR Rahman. The lyrics for "Hai Rama" were written by Mehboob and sung by Hariharan and Swarnalatha.