30 years of 'DDLJ': Lalit Pandit remembers working with Lata Mangeshkar on film's timeless tunes

Mumbai, Oct 18 (PTI) Lalit Pandit and his brother Jatin were relatively new composers in the Hindi film industry when they landed the project that would change their lives — the romance drama “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge”.

Three decades later, Lalit looks back on the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer not just for its iconic status but also as the film that marked their first collaboration with the legendary Lata Mangeshkar.

The duo composed all the songs for the film, which released on October 20, 1995 and redefined romance for a generation and became a cultural touchstone in Indian cinema.

From the dreamy love ballad “Mere Khwabon Mein” to the festive and celebratory “Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna”, the film's music became an integral part of the film’s narrative and helped cement DDLJ’s status as a classic of Indian cinema.

"The music is one of the most important factors why this film has run for 30 years. It has touched different generations. It's a very Indian-oriented melody.

"The songs were beautifully sung by Lata ji and all the other singers... In this film, everything just fell into place. The songs had great expressions from Shah Rukh Khan. He added so much to its energy. It's been an epitome moment in the artists that have performed in this film," Lalit told PTI in an interview.

Directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by his father Yash Chopra, the film follows Raj (Shah Rukh Khan) and Simran (Kajol), two young Indians raised abroad who fall in love on a European vacation but must navigate traditional Indian values to be together.

The first song the music composer duo recorded for the movie was "Mere Khwabon Mein", picturised on Kajol. The track was sung by Mangeshkar.

"It was Lata ji's solo song... I was very nervous that we will meet Didi and how everything will happen. There was a lot of excitement. When she came over to the studio, she was so well rehearsed. She sang so well and taught us so much in that song.

"She had her understanding of how to pronounce a word and how to express the song. It was a learning experience... The way she understood the scenario of young composers asking her to sing the song and what was required of her and how comfortable she had that experience of making us feel that ‘it's nothing. All will go well. Don't worry’. It was such a heartening experience. I have no words to explain,” Lalit recalled.

He said the song broke the ice between them and the legend started treating them as friends.

"She was a very humorous lady. She had tremendous memories of her work and incidents that have happened in her life... It was great hearing her every time she came to the studio and sang for us. The happiest thing happens when the artist knows that good work is happening. No amount of money can please an artist except the realisation that good work is happening and they need to contribute to it," he added.

Lalit said he takes pride that their many collaborations with Mangeshkar was nothing short of exceptional. She sang many songs that they composed, including "Humko Humise Chura Lo" from Yash Chopra's "Mohabbatein" and "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham" from Karan Johar's 2003 movie of the same name.

“We were very careful about how to go about when we had Lata ji to sing with us. We were very careful about how the songs should sound, how the orchestration should be, and how comfortable she should be. She had a very loving attitude towards both me and Jatin. The very fact that she accepted us in the first song was a very happy thing. When we both were going home after recording, we were very happy,” he added.

Jatin-Lalit, who started their music careers with films such as "Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander", "Khiladi", "Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman" and "Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa", said they found themselves working on the music of "DDLJ" after Mangeshkar's sister Asha Bhosle recommended them to Yash Chopra.

“Asha ji talked to Yash ji to hear us (our music)," he recalled.

While all the songs were sung by Mangeshkar, Lalit said they realised that there should be a song with Bhosle as well.

"When we were doing the last song (‘Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main’), we remembered that we had made Lata ji sing all the songs, and if Asha ji didn't sing even one song, it would be unfair. We wouldn't be able to show our faces to her. The kind of energy it had, Asha ji was required in this song, generally. When we suggested that Asha ji sing this song, everybody was very happy," he said.

"Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" also featured an excellent ensemble cast of late legend Amrish Puri, Farida Jalal, Himani Shivpuri, Satish Shah, Parmeet Sethi, Mandira Bedi and Karan Johar. PTI SSG RB RB RB