Phone call by Asha Bhosle started Jatin-Lalit's tryst with DDLJ

A casual question by Asha Bhosle when they went to her home to pay their condolences following the death of her husband R D Burman led to music composers Jatin-Lalit landing the contract of their dreams – "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge". It was 1994.

People had started leaving her Santacruz residence at the end of the day when Bhosle asked if the composer brothers had worked with Yash Chopra. They said no, and she immediately picked up the phone to speak to Chopra, recalls Lalit Pandit. "She recommended us right there.

Yash ji was interested in meeting us as he had heard about our work in 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar' among others," Pandit told PTI, rewinding to the past to remember their work in "DDLJ" that was released exactly 25 years ago on October 20, 1995. Aditya Chopra, who was working on his debut film as director, was present at the meeting and the composers clinched the deal thanks to a song they had already prepared.

"I presented a song to them, which went, 'Mehendi laga ke chalna, payal baja ke chalna; par aashiquo se apna daman bacha ke chalna.' It worked wonders for them," Pandit said. The song, as it appeared in the movie, was "Mehendi laga ke rakha…" and filmed on Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, who went on to become one of film industry's most loved onscreen couples after the film.

It was one of the seven tracks in the movie, among the most successful in Indian film history. The album is that rare soundtrack with all its seven songs becoming chartbusters and popular even today. With melodious tunes, rich vocals and lyrics on young love and old roots, the songs swept the nation when the film released. Twenty-five years later, Pandit said he remembers creating every beat like it was yesterday. The film scripted history as people woke up to the romance of Raj and Simran and so did its music.

Composers Jatin-Lalit and lyricist Anand Bakshi hit music gold with hits such as "Mere Khwabon Mein", "Tujhe Dekha To" and "Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko". Pandit described the film's glorious run as "historical" – till March, when the country went into lockdown, the film was still playing at Mumbai's Maratha Mandir.

"It's a record that won't break easily for years to come. This won't happen to any of us associated with the film again. It was beyond our imagination when we started work on the music that this would become historical," he said.

Remembering that first meeting, Pandit said he and his brother presented the melody of "Mere Khwabon Mein" without lyrics and both Yash and Aditya Chopra loved it. "Mere Khwabon Mein", sung by Lata Mangeshkar, was the first song to be recorded and its energy was inspired by Saira Banu's performance in the "Bhai Batoor' song from "Padosan", he said.

"Aditya Chopra wanted to show the exuberance of youth and wanted an energetic song because it had Shah Rukh's entry. If you listen to it, 'Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye' plays on a medium pace but it picks up suddenly with the interlude." Mangeshkar became the voice of Kajol for the film, singing four tracks, except for "Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Mein", for which the composers turned to Bhosle. "We got the film because of her and we thought it'd be shameful if she doesn't have any song! The fun of the track could only be mirrored by Asha ji. Even Yash ji was on-board."

The musician said they had also created a title track for "DDLJ" but the team decided to drop it as Kishore Kumar had memorably sung "Le Jayenge Le Jayenge Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" for the 1974 "Chor Machaye Shor". "We thought it would unnecessarily create comparisons and controversy," Pandit said. The song was subsequently tweaked and used in Salman Khan's "Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai".

For the celebratory "Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna", the team was in a fix when Bakshi wrote 25 'antaras' for the song and asked the team to pick the best two. "We gave up and requested him to select because everyone had different choices! Finally, he chose the best ones. We were blown away by his dedication."

"Tujhe Dekha Toh", where Raj and Simran reunite against the backdrop of mustard fields in Punjab, was one of the biggest hits of the album. Pandit said the lines "Tujhe Dekha Toh Ye Jaana Sanam" as well as a few musical notes came from Aditya Chopra. "When he told us, we found it so beautiful. We worked on the melody, composed it and it ultimately became the song of the year. Today, it's the flagbearer of the film."

Pandit's personal favourite is "Na Jaane Mere", sung by Mangeshkar and Udit Narayan. Shot across Switzerland, the song captures the beginning of the romantic journey of Raj and Simran. "Aditya Chopra wanted to combine two choruses and make one song.

It's like two songs rolled into one. Both had different tempos and I was quite sceptical but when we composed it, the song became my favourite. Even the way it's shot with Kajol and Shah Rukh... everything is iconic."

For "Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane", sung by Udit Narayan, Aditya Chopra wanted a song that captured the energy of the song "Bachna Ae Haseeno" and classic Shammi Kapoor tracks. The sentimental "Ghar Aaja Pardesi" was sung by Manpreet Kaur and Pamela Chopra, Yash Chopra's wife.