Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (soundtrack)

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Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge
Soundtrack album by
Jatin–Lalit
ReleasedJuly 1995
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length38:46
LanguageHindi
LabelHMV
ProducerJatin–Lalit

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge is the soundtrack to the 1995 film of the same name directed by Aditya Chopra for Yash Raj Films, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. It was released by the HMV (now Saregama) label in July 1995. The soundtrack, which was developed for four months, features seven songs composed by Jatin–Lalit and lyrics written by Anand Bakshi. The soundtrack set records in sales, thereby the best-selling Hindi film soundtrack of the year and has been considered as one of the best Bollywood music albums of all time. The album won two Filmfare Awards, out of five nominations.

Background and production[edit]

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge features seven original songs composed by Jatin–Lalit in their first collaboration with Yash Raj Films, and the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi.[1] Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet Bhattacharya and Udit Narayan performing the vocals.[2] Farah Khan and Saroj Khan were the song choreographers.[3] The film directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by his father Yash Chopra stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in the lead roles. It was a record-breaking commercial success upon its release on 20 October 1995 and garnered critical acclaim.[4]

Jatin–Lalit was considered for the job when singer Asha Bhosle contacted Yash Chopra after meeting them. They were unaware of the film as well as the cast, and had presented some of the tunes they had, including the early versions of "Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna" and "Mere Khwabon Mein". After singing "Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna", Yash recruited them for the film.[5] The duo then worked on the soundtrack for over four months.[6] Over 50 musicians had been employed to contribute the soundtrack, and the duo recorded with advanced technologies from England during that time. Besides that, he further employed a technical team of sound engineers, recorders and mixers who helped them curating songs with advanced sound quality. Some of the interludes were jointly composed by his assistant and music supervisor Richard Mitra, and arranger Babul Chakraborty.[7]

Composition[edit]

"Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane" was inspired by "Bachna Ae Haseeno" from Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977) due to Aditya's insistence to have a song in the same flavor, but with Shammi Kapoor in place of Rishi Kapoor.[8] Lata Mangeshkar performed all of the female vocals for the track, except "Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main" and "Ghar Aaja Pardesi". The duo wanted Mangeshkar to perform one of the songs for Akshay Kumar's Khiladi (1992), which she refused to. Yash wanted Mangeshkar as the primary singer of all of his films, and when he discussed on Mangeshkar's inclusion, they felt excited and wanted to curate music that does justice to her vocals. When they showcased those tunes to Mangeshkar (particularly "Tujhe Dekha To"), she liked it and agreed to record her tunes for the film.[9] While singing "Mere Khwabon Mein", Aditya gave Mangeshkar's "Bhai Batoor" for Padosan (1968) as a reference for the duo to tune that track.[9] Since Bhosle was instrumental on the duo's recruitment, they wanted to ensure at least one song should be sung by her. While recording "Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main" as the last from the album, they insisted Yash to record the song with Bhosle as "she could do justice to that song" and eventually hired.[9] Pamela Chopra performed the track "Ghar Aaja Pardesi" and helped the duo to select the tunes and instruments to give a Punjabi flavour. Bakshi was asked to curate the song similar to "Chitthi Aayee Hai" from Naam (1986) in order to make "every Indian who was away from home feel homesick". Chopra herself performed the song owing to "sentimental reasons" which led the duo design the song with her image in mind.[9]

"Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna" was intended to be composed for Khiladi but left unused. When he performed the scratch version of the tune to Yash and Aditya, the latter wanted to use that song in the film, which the duo agreed. Although neither a bhangra or fast-paced song, as they initially suggested, they felt the song would fit perfectly for the film.[9] In addition to writing the lyrics, Bakshi also composed the opening lines of the song in a single sitting on Yash's request, as "Shah Rukh’s [Khan] entry in the song must be done to the accompaniment of the special two lines" while the remainder has been composed by the duo.[6] "Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko" is the fusion of two different tunes in one song, which was conceptualized from Aditya. The duo described it difficult to record the song, as during the late-1990s, all the songs were recorded live and there was no digital programming. Hence, they had to record the rhythms as longer, with the musicians rehearsing it from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. While recording the song, Lalit gestured to instruct the musicians so that they could give the cues to Mangeshkar while singing.[9] "Tujhe Dekha To" was composed when Aditya sung the opening lines of the track, they took those opening words and constructed them as a separate song for the album. After recording, Mangeshkar directly met Jatin–Lalit at the recording studio and congratulated them for his composition. Kumar Sanu's portions had to be re-recorded as they felt he had not "caught the mood of the lyrics and tune" which often happens with male singers while performing duets with Mangeshkar and wanted him to "overdo the feelings" so that he could match up with her vocals.[6]

The title track—which was initially composed for the film—had to be dropped, owing to it being compared with the eponymous song by Ravindra Jain from Chor Machaye Shor (1974). Eventually, there was a situation to use the title song during the antakshari and came up with a tune but was unsuccessful in doing so. He then created another song with the same tune for Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai (1998).[9]

Reception[edit]

Bhasker Gupta, writing for AllMusic, said the soundtrack was the best of Jatin–Lalit's career, and that it "marked the beginning of the fifth wave in Indian cinema ...".[10] Vipin Nair, writing for The New Indian Express and Music Aloud also agreed it being the best soundtrack of Jatin–Lalit so far and assigned a score of 8.5 (out of 10).[11][12] Analysing the film's music during the 25th anniversary, Suanshu Khurana of The Indian Express, said that the soundtrack came at a time when Hindi film music during the early-1990s being "uninspiring" with Aashiqui (1990), Saajan (1991), Deewana (1992), Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992), Roja (1992) and Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994) as the exceptions, and listeners' being exposed to Indipop, ghazals and world music with the entry of MTV and Channel V to India during liberalization.[13] He said that the film's music was slightly different in orchestration from Hindi film music, that worked due to Jatin–Lalit's innovation compared to other musicians, and the fresh tunes—despite being inspired from Nadeem–Shravan's "synth-and-dholak" template[13]—as well as Anand Bakshi's lyrics being "neither old-fashioned nor was it boorish"[13] having a sense of colloquialism, helped in the soundtrack's success as it "embodies a plentitude of thought and melody".[13] Khurana further added that the songs had "different permutations and combinations with similar note structures" and all of them were tied well within the film's screenplay.[13]

Uday Bhatia's article for Mint described Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge as among the best of Jatin–Lalit's compositions for Shah Rukh Khan's films.[8] Devarsi Ghosh of Scroll.in said "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge’s songs are almost like bhajans in any household that consumes Hindi cinema. Aditya Chopra’s film led Jatin-Lalit towards a dholak-pop sound to which they frequently returned and even brought to Bengali films."[14] At Collider's article for the best-selling soundtracks across the world during the 1990s, Jeremy Urquhart said that the music of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge "plays a huge role in its enduring legacy".[15]

In 2005, the album was judged the top Hindi soundtrack of all time by voters on the BBC Asian Network website.[16] The soundtrack was ranked at number 6 on the list of "100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks of All Time", as compiled by Planet Bollywood,[17] and at 68 on "Top 100 Bollywood Albums" by Film Companion.[18]

Sales and records[edit]

The soundtrack became the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year, with 12 million official units sold by HMV, although it is estimated the same number or more copies were pirated.[19] More than 1 million of those sales occurred prior to the film's release,[20] with Chopra earning an advance of ₹10 million for the music rights.[21] Gulshan Kumar sold an unofficial version of the soundtrack under his T-Series label. Combined sales of both the official HMV version and the unofficial T-Series version amounted to 20 million copies.[22] The total number of estimated sales including pirated copies range from 25 million[19] to over 100 million.[23] The soundtrack has also set records on radio stations with repeated airings.[9] Jatin–Lalit recalled that the melody and sound quality made it favorite for airplay in several stations.[9]

Accolades[edit]

Awards Category Nominee Result Ref(s)
41st Filmfare Awards Best Music Director Jatin–Lalit Nominated [24]
[25]
Best Lyricist Anand Bakshi for "Tujhe Dekha To" Won
Anand Bakshi for "Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko" Nominated
Best Male Playback Singer Udit Narayan for "Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna" Won
Kumar Sanu for "Tujhe Dekha To" Nominated

Legacy[edit]

The film as well as the soundtrack had largely influenced the pop-culture phenomenon.[26] The song "Tujhe Deka To" had been re-used and parodied by several filmmakers,[27] especially Khan and Deepika Padukone in Rohit Shetty's Chennai Express (2013).[28][29] "Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna" has been played at weddings across the South Asian diaspora.[9][30] In October 2021, Aditya announced that he would be directing a Broadway musical entitled Come Fall In Love – The DDLJ Musical, based on the film which debuted on the Broadway season of 2022–2023.[31]

Track listing[edit]

Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)[1]
No.TitleSingersLength
1."Ghar Aaja Pardesi"Manpreet Kaur, Pamela Chopra7:32
2."Mere Khwabon Mein"Lata Mangeshkar4:18
3."Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main"Asha Bhosle, Abhijeet Bhattacharya5:55
4."Tujhe Dekha To"Lata Mangeshkar, Kumar Sanu5:05
5."Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna"Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan4:51
6."Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane"Udit Narayan5:14
7."Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko"Lata Mangeshkar, Udit Narayan5:51

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  2. ^ Jatin–Lalit (1995). "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge". Saregama. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995) BFI". British Film Institute. 2002. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  4. ^ Lalwani, Vickey (5 August 2010). "800 weeks of DDLJ". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 June 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  5. ^ Seta, Fenil (20 October 2022). "27 Years Of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge EXCLUSIVE: Jatin Pandit BREAKS silence on not winning the Filmfare Award for Best Music: "Iss baat ka toh mujhe aaj tak dukh hai. The music of DDLJ deserved to win"". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "On Lalit Pandit's birthday, revisiting the enduring appeal of the music of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaenge". Firstpost. 16 March 2022. Archived from the original on 16 April 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  7. ^ "'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge': A historic moment in Jatin-Lalit's career". www.radioandmusic.com. Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Jatin-Lalit, the sound of the '90s". Mint. 18 October 2020. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Jha, Subhash K. (16 December 2014). "We got DDLJ on Asha Bhosle's recommendation". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  10. ^ Gupta, Bhasker. "Original Soundtrack Dilwale Dulhania le Jayenge [Saregama]". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  11. ^ "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge – Music Review (Bollywood Soundtrack) - Music Aloud". Music Aloud. 29 November 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  12. ^ "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge". The New Indian Express. 30 December 2014. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Signature tunes". The Indian Express. 1 November 2020. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  14. ^ Ghosh, Devarsi (23 May 2022). "The highs and highs of Jatin-Lalit's Hindi film soundtracks". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  15. ^ Urquhart, Jeremy (2 July 2022). "The 10 Most Popular Movie Soundtracks of All Time, Ranked by Total Sales". Collider. Archived from the original on 13 July 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Asian Network – Top 40 Soundtracks of All Time". BBC Asian Network. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  17. ^ "100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks Ever – Part 4 – Planet Bollywood Features". Planetbollywood.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  18. ^ Nair, Vipin (8 November 2017). "Top 100 Bollywood Albums". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  19. ^ a b Chopra 2002, p. 9: DDLJ has sold an estimated 25 million copies of its soundtrack. HMV, DDLJ's music company, pegs official sales at 12 million tapes – at least the same amount or more pirated cassettes have been sold.
  20. ^ Chopra 2002, pp. 46–48.
  21. ^ Kaur, Raminder; Sinha, Ajay J. (2005). Bollyworld: Popular Indian Cinema Through A Transnational Lens. SAGE Publications. p. 189. ISBN 9788132103448. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  22. ^ "Rediff on the Net, Movies: How Gulshan Kumar signed his own death warrant". Rediff. 2 September 1997. Archived from the original on 3 June 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  23. ^ Ganti, Tejaswini (2012). Producing Bollywood: Inside the Contemporary Hindi Film Industry. Duke University Press. p. 390. ISBN 978-0-8223-5213-6. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  24. ^ "Filmfare Nominees and Winners" (PDF). Filmfare. pp. 91–93. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  25. ^ "DDLJ's big win at the Filmfare Awards". Filmfare. 11 December 2014. Archived from the original on 29 June 2015. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
  26. ^ Chopra 2002, p. 11.
  27. ^ Jha, Subhash K. (13 July 2014). "The DDLJ Hangover in Bollywood". SKJ Bollywood News. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 19 March 2015. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, known the world over by the amiable acronym DDLJ
  28. ^ Bohni, Bandyopadhyay (20 July 2013). "Trains and filmi romance". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
  29. ^ "Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone's DDLJ moment in Chennai Express". The Indian Express. 18 June 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  30. ^ "Story behind 'Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna'". The Times of India. 25 January 2011. Archived from the original on 20 April 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
  31. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (22 October 2021). "Bollywood Hit 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' Goes to Broadway With Top Talent Attached (Exclusive)". Variety. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 12 December 2021.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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