The evergreen film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), completed 27 years on October 20, and it stands out as it’s the longest-running film in the history of cinema. The trade and industry are still shocked at how this Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol starrer manages to find an audience for its 11:30 am show at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir. Several viewers have seen it many, many times and have even memorized the dialogues. Yet, they can’t stop themselves from going to Maratha Mandir. After all, that’s the magic of the film and it won’t be surprising if it successfully runs for another 27 years as well.
The film had unforgettable music and is still heard fondly by listeners. Hence, on Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’s 27th anniversary, Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to music director Jatin Pandit, of Jatin-Lalit fame, about the film and how they bagged the project.
Jatin Pandit revealed how Asha Bhosle was instrumental in helping them bag the love story, “This was a time when Pancham da (R D Burman) had passed away. We (Jatin Pandit and Lalit Pandit) had gone to his house two days later. Asha ji was sitting alone in Pancham da’s room. We spoke to her. She told us, ‘Tum log itna accha kaam kar rahe ho. Tum logon ko badi filmein milni chahiye. Tum log badi filmein kyun nahi kar rahe ho?’.”
Jatin Pandit continued, “She called Pam ji (Pamela Chopra; Yash Chopra’s wife) and spoke highly about us. Some days later, we got a call from Yash Raj Films. We were told to come to their office for music sitting. We went there. The sitting was supposed to last for an hour but it went on for 3-4 hours. We had no idea that Aditya Chopra was going to debut as a director and they were looking for a music director for his movie. We thought it was a film that’ll be directed by Yash ji. Hamari kismat acchi thi ki unki script complete thi aur woh log shooting shuru karne hi waale the. It was a case of being at the right time and right place. We were then given the narration and bagged the film!”
One of the USPs of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge album was that it had various types of songs, from outright romantic (‘Tujhe Dekha Toh Yeh Jaana Sanam’) to peppy (‘Ruk Ja O Dil Deewana’) to the celebratory (‘Mehendi Laga Ke Rakhna’). ‘Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye’, ‘Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko Pyaar’ and ‘Zara Sa Jhoom’ also left a huge mark. Then, one song that stood out was ‘Ghar Aa Ja Pardesi’. The film starts with this song and the track of the NRI character (Amrish Puri) remembering his motherland was quite touching. Even today, several NRIs get teary-eyed when they hear or see the song.
“That was the idea ki NRI logon ko yaad dilaya jaaye ki hamara desh kitna mahaan hai. Aapne paise toh kama liye lekin aapka gaav, aapki sadakein aapko bula rahi hai. Lyricist Anand Bakshi saab wrote the song beautifully. We requested Pam ji to sing it. She sang it so well,” said Jatin Pandit.
For many, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is the best music album ever and hence, it hurts them to know that it didn’t win the Best Music Award at the 41st Filmfare Awards. A R Rahman instead got the Black Lady for Aamir Khan-Urmila Matondkar starrer Rangeela (1995). When asked if he was disappointed about this fact and he revealed, “Iss baat ka toh mujhe aaj tak dukh hai. The music of the film deserved to win. As time passes, its songs are becoming more and more famous. Aisa music baar baar toh aa nahi sakta.”
Lastly, when asked if he has ever watched Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge at Maratha Mandir, Jatin Pandit answered, “Yes, I have gone with friends 2-3 times. Manoj Desai (executive director of the theatre) bahut acche insaan hai. So, I like going there and watching the film. Mujhe accha lagta hai.”
Also Read: Jatin Pandit reminisces about parting ways with Lalit Pandit
More Pages: Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge Box Office Collection
BOLLYWOOD NEWS - LIVE UPDATES
Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2025 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.
