Veteran Bollywood filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi said his latest project, Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh, wouldn’t have been possible without music composer A.R. Rahman.

“When I told people that I wanted to make this film, nobody encouraged me. I didn’t have money. The only investment that I had was the truth. I did not want to make this film with stars because it is about the ideologies of Gandhi and Godse. I wanted lesser-known faces and preferably a Gujarati actor to play Gandhi and a Marathi actor to play Godse,” said Santoshi.

“When I told Rahman about this film, he said, ‘It’s a good idea and you should make this film. I’m with you.’ Once I got Rahman on board, people started associating with us. This film got made because AR Rahman was with us. Otherwise, the film wouldn’t have been made,” the director added.

Asked about his involvement in the film, Rahman said he thought that Santoshi was courageous and didn’t compromise. “There are so many narratives about both Gandhi and Godse. And he has dealt with it intelligently. I knew that nothing was easy and that it would be a trial-by-fire movie. And in today’s times, people like him have to bring back the charm of storytelling. I believe in humanity and the people of India. So, this is a very important film.”

Gandhi Godse Ek Yudh, which will hit the theatres on January 26, is about an imagined conversation between Mahatma Gandhi and Nathuram Godse. This is Santoshi’s return to the directorial chair after a decade after 2013’s Phata Poster Nikla Hero.

The ace music director rearranged two of Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite bhajans — Raghupati Raghav Rajaram and Vaishnav Jan To.