Jatin-Lalit: Audience, but no Awards
"Tujhe dekha to ye jana sanam, pyar hota hai deewana sanam."
Sarson ke khet, King Khan playing the mandolin on a windy summer morn to his dame Kajol, conjuring a passionate sequence amid parental opposition; Anand Bakshi's evergreen verses; Kumar Sanu's nasal baritone and Lataji's melodic singing.
Did I miss something? Sure I did.
Pause for a second and ask yourselves. Did you just mechanically read the above lyric or did you read them in a sing-song manner? If your choice was the latter, read on! If it was the former - read again. You will not be able to resist the power of melody.
And who's behind this melody? The dynamic and versatile duo of Jatin-Lalit, who gave us super-hit songs like "Pehla Nasha", "Ae Kash Ke Hum", "Tujhe Dekha To", "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", and many more. Not to forget "Bin Tere Sanam", one of their earlier songs which was masterfully recreated and remixed by DJ Suketu. Nonetheless, the original has stood the test of time.
The name sounds familiar, doesn't it? You must have "See"n "the details on the inlay card" (if you remember the good ol' cassette tapes) or seen CD covers bearing their name beside the music personnel list. On Filmfare Awards - unfortunately, no.
Flashback.
Aana hi pada sajna, zaalim hai dil ki lagi.
Yaara Dildara. As cheezy as the title may sound to the audience of the 21st century, this movie is memorable. Its soundtrack is memorable. And as I slid its first-edition audio cassette into my Walkman, Side-A began with the feet-tapping "Bin Tere Sanam" starting off with a guitar riff, a drum fill and a sea-breeze, followed by generous servings of the typical Bollywood 90s "a-ha"s and "hey-hey"s.
This song dominated the charts. Jatin-Lalit were an overnight sensation.
Not to forget, the melodious, "Tum Hi Hamari Ho Manzil My Love". That "my love" cracks me up every time.
Khiladi, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
1992 was a special year for three people. A. R. Rahman, because of Roja, débutant Shahrukh Khan, because of Deewana and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and Jatin-Lalit, for the release of three stellar soundtracks, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Jo Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and Khiladi. All films boasted of a great star-cast, with Khiladi making Akshay Kumar a brand, RBGG making SRK the melody man of 1992 (both his début films had great music) and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar strengthening the Nasir-Mansoor-Aamir trio. But what does one remember the most about Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar besides the cycles and the edge-of-the-seat climax?
May I please have the piano? May I please have my crush beside me?
Well, the piano's here with an imaginary crush - oh, and she's singing!
"Chaahe tum kuch naa kaho...maine sun liya..."
"Pehla Nasha" was the rage back then among the love-birds, and has it aged like fine wine!
Khiladi also had its fair share of melodious songs like "Waada Raha Sanam", "Kya Khabar Thi Jaana" and "Dekha Teri Mast Nigahon Mein".
1993-94 saw Jatin-Lalit concretising their position in the music industry, competing with duos like Nadeem-Shravan (who were critical and commercial heart-throbs following the release of the soundtrack of Aashiqui in 1989-90), Anand-Milind and the waning but influential and respected Laxmikant-Pyarelal (who rocked the charts with Khalnayak in 1993). One individual who gave tough competition to them was none other than the Picasso of Bollywood music - Anu Malik, who won his first Filmfare Award for Best Music Director in 1994 for the SRK-starrer Baazigar.
Speaking of SRK, he and Jatin-Lalit have had great soundtracks for a decade, starting from Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992) to Chalte Chalte (2003). 1993-94 saw the release of a spectacular six-track soundtrack of Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Kundan Shah's musical masterpiece about a hopeless teenage romantic. Songs like "Ae Kaash Ke Hum" and "Deewana Dil Deewana" are still very popular on the radio.
But the Pandit brothers were yet to reach their peak.
Tujhe Dekha to Yeh Jaana Sanam
1995, Yash Chopra films had completed 22 years and it was time for Aditya Chopra to step into director daddy's shoes. Among the ranks of Karan Johar, I place Aditya Chopra's magnum opus Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge as one of the famous big fat débuts in Bollywood. Not to say that the movie was not short of anything but stunning. The acting, the locales, the music!
I guess the flow of the article has made it cliché enough to reveal DDLJ's soundtrack composers - Jatin-Lalit.
With a crew boasting of stalwarts like Lata Mangeshkar and popular singers like Udit Narayan and Kumar Sanu, and a lyricist like Anand Bakshi, Jatin-Lalit seemed to be microns in front of the big YRF banner, but they proved their mettle meticulously.
The soundtrack with evergreen songs like "Tujhe Dekha To", "Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane", "Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye", "Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main", "Mehendi Laga Ke Rakhna", "Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko To Pyar Sajna" and "Ghar Aaja Pardesi" (I wrote the entire tracklist!), DDLJ was a chartbuster in India with a whopping 25-100 million copies sold (pirated and original both.) Such was its legacy that in 2005, the album was judged the top Hindi soundtrack of all time by voters on the BBC Asian Network website. It won the hearts of critics and consumers alike.
The 1996 Filmfare Awards were dominated by DDLJ; it bagged the Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress awards among many others, much to the disappointment of runner-up Rangeela's crew. It, however, is interesting to note that the film did NOT win the Best Music Award, losing it to the maestro of Madras, A. R. Rahman, for a beautiful score in Rangeela. (I, personally am a Rahman fan, but felt really sad for Jatin-Lalit upon hearing the results of the awards.) If this was not heart-breaking enough, Kumar Sanu's consecutive winning streak, which had started off in 1991, broke off in 1996, as he lost "Tujhe Dekha To" to "Mehendi Laga Ke Rakhna" by fellow singer and crew member Udit Narayan. While both songs are good, I personally prefer the former to the latter.
I don't know how Jatin-Lalit must have felt about not getting the Best Music award, I feel they considered public admiration as a greater accolade than awards. Such love for their audience bettered their soundtracks even more.
Post DDLJ days: halfway into the 90s.
1996 saw Jatin-Lalit ruling the roost with the soundtrack of Khamoshi. This album gave us the bubbly, "Aaj Main Upar" and the romantic ballad "Baahon Ke Darmiyan". The soundtrack also featured "Jaana Suno Hum Tumpe Marte Hain" which uncannily resembles Paul Anka's song "Bring the Wine. Sceptical? Check out both the songs on YouTube. Khamoshi's soundtrack was also critically and commercially viable.
'96 also saw the release of one of my favourite albums of J-L: Fareb, which included the Filmfare nominated Abhijeet's "Ye Teri Aankhen Jhuki Jhuki" and the Udit-Alka helmed smooth romantic melody of "O Humsafar Dil Ke Nagar". This album was also quite popular back in the day and also features in my 90s Bollywood cassette collection.
The same year also saw the audio release of a movie titled Mr Aashiq (which later got released as Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan in 1999). Among other songs, one melodic one stood out: "Mera Chaand Mujhe Aaye Hai Nazar."
Towards the Millenium (1997-2000)
If 1997 is remembered for anything musical, it would be Yash Chopra's classic Dil to Pagal Hai with a memorable soundtrack by Uttam Singh. DTPH starred SRK, who featured in two other movies in '97 - Koyla and Yes Boss, the latter beating the former (in my view) in popular appeal. While Koyla was a Roshan venture, Yes Boss saw the team of Aziz Mirza, Juhi Chawla, SRK and Jatin-Lalit to unite again to create magic - encased in a six-track soundtrack cassette. Songs like "Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaaoon" and "Jaata Hai Tu Kahan?" were the first to grab my attention in childhood as TV channels blasted them off in those summer afternoons. Eventually, I heard the entire soundtrack and found it to my taste. My taste was and is highly J-L influenced. But this influence had just started to trickle in, it would be hardened in the coming years.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)
Now, this is one essential J-L album (after DDLJ, of course.) Not just because it contains that one great title track, not just because it has the unrequited "Tujhe Yaad Na Meri Aayi", not for the "ho-ho"s of "Ladki Badi Anjani Hai" or the High School Musical "Koi Mil Gaya" (which masquerades as a substitute to the 2003-film soundtrack on music streaming platforms) but because it gels in with the J-L canon so well, that removing it makes the discography appear sufficient but incomplete. The popularity and freshness this film brought with it, barring the escapist impresarios of Johar Jr, is similar to that of DDLJ, because here too, a director was a débutant; here too, a father was putting his buck on his lad, here too, a sweet soundtrack was required, here too - Jatin-Lalit were summoned.
1998 also saw the release of other J-L hits such as "Ajnabi Mujhko Itna Bata" (which is a fake "Tujhe Dekha To" with the real Raj and Simran) and other Pyar to Hona Hi Tha songs. We had Aamir Khan's début song as a playback singer wherein he along with the Pandit brothers and Rani Mukerji took us all for surprise to Khandala: all in a saleable and hummable soundtrack of Ghulam, which also featured the pacy romantic duet "Aankhon Se Tune Ye Kya Keh Diya". Another audio treat was Sallu bhai's offering - Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai whose songs were quite popular too. Although we better know the Salman Khan of 1998 as a shirtless guy dancing to the tunes of a disconnected, powerless electric guitar to the beats of "O O Jane Jana". As said by VickyLeaks - a real DJ connects with the chicks, he doesn't need wires.
The Filmfare Awards happened and happened as they always happened. The poor duo lost it again to Rahman for his outstanding score for Dil Se.. This brings KKHH more closer to DDLJ in faring musical awards (for Filmfare.)
The 90s end with Sangharsh, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani
1999 saw J-L with some good songs on their discography, like "Dil Kya Kare", "Pyar Ke Liye Chaar Pal Kam Nahi The", "Mujhe Raat Din", "Dil Ka Qaraar", etc. A successful release that year was Sarfarosh, whose USP was the Golden-Eye theme song inspired "Jo Haal Dil Ka" and the Jagjit Singh song, "Hosh Walon ko Khabar Kya?" Sarfarosh's "Zindagi Maut na Ban Jaaye" projected the same emotions in the eyes of listeners, which Anu Malik sought to see two years back with "Sandese Aate Hain" from Border (probably because of the same two singers in both songs.) The year carried on with the pre-Y2K frenzy, new music, digital, electronic music. 2000 was supposed to be Hrithik Roshan's launching year, a man who was a familiar face on the FilmKraft sets as an AD. Due to some technical glitches, our flashback machine takes us to December 1999. This was a time where the stereos were cranked, Walkmans jammed, CD's unsealed and TV bombarded - all with one song - "Kaho Naa Pyar Hai". Hrithik Roshan was the style icon and the heartthrob of the ladies and gents. On the other side though, we had SRK, with lots of Dreamz. Producing Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani with the same team once again - Mirza, Chawla and the Pandits, he believed he was the best. The soundtrack might justify this a bit, but the movie's box office collections did not. SRK was fuming like a red chilly at the end of the decade.
The 2000s: YRF, YRF, YRF.
Sad violin.
Before this was a viral meme template, people, especially in India, knew only one sad violin tune.
*starts playing it in the background*
More maple leaves, please!
"Aaaah aaah aaaa....hmmmmm......"
Aditya Chopra's - Mohabbatein. A film with two biggies of Bollywood - Big B and SRK, and the rest, all youngsters. Wait, did I just ghost Aishwarya Rai Bachchan? I guess I did.
Enough of waffle, let's get down to the soundtrack.
For an avid listener of J-L, I can judge that J-L focussed more on the melody of the songs rather than the rhythm and beats of it (following the coveted Nadeem-Shravan trend of the early 90s.) Part of the songs begin with the beating of a dhol, part of them begin with the signature "Hum Ko Humise Churalo" violin tune, part of them begin with "aah"s and "ooh"s, and the rest from dialogues and instrumental pieces. On the whole, the soundtrack may sound repetitive at times but is a pleasant listen. All the songs of Mohabbatein carry with them an autumn breeze, neither too warm, nor harshly cold - but covertly reeking of the air of separation from a loved one.
The second YRF movie on the list is about cartoons. H-T and its soundtrack ends with a track called "U-N-I." Confused with the cryptic alphabetical overdose? The answer is Hum Tum. This 2004 film has some of the most memorable childhood tracks (for me.) I still remember cranking up my stereo and running around the house listening to "Chak De" or making the bed a trampoline by dancing to "Ladki Kyon" or testing my new bass speakers to "U-N-I (Mere Dil Vich)" (the title track would hit me harder as a teen, I realise now.) The soundtrack was a typical J-L one - melodious and rhythmic.
Things were going well for J-L financially. Their albums were selling like hot-cakes, but their first Filmfare Award was yet to grace their shelf. Their last album together was Fanaa, after which they parted ways. With memorable songs like "Chand Sifarish". "Mere Haath Mein" and "Dekho Na", Jatin-Lalit put their best foot forward this time too, but, as fate would have it, lost to Rahman for his score for Rang de Basanti.
For everyone's reference, I've sourced an all-time sales sheet for J-L's albums.
I would say that Jatin-Lalit were like Salman Khan in their fate at the Filmfare Awards. Both of them share the record of being nominated the maximum number of times in their respective fields (Best Music Director and Best Actor) but have won none. Here's the catch, though - Jatin-Lalit were loved by both critics and audience (and they were not trolled incessantly on social media like Bhai). Blame their star-crossed discography, blame the jury, blame the competition, blame anything - the record stands unmoved and the duo is incognito.
Thus, abruptly I may end, but I need to point out one thing, that J-L were one of my favourite music director duos, I really need them and their kind of music, my kind of music back. But I am afraid, that they may find an audience, but no awards. Had I been a part of the Filmfare jury, the Special Award for Best Music in 2001, would have gone to Mohabbatein if Refugee could also be given the same.
But then, I quote myself again,
"I feel they considered public admiration as a greater accolade than awards. Such love for their audience bettered their soundtracks even more."
Long live the Pandit bros. Long live melody.
Sarson ke khet, King Khan playing the mandolin on a windy summer morn to his dame Kajol, conjuring a passionate sequence amid parental opposition; Anand Bakshi's evergreen verses; Kumar Sanu's nasal baritone and Lataji's melodic singing.
Did I miss something? Sure I did.
Pause for a second and ask yourselves. Did you just mechanically read the above lyric or did you read them in a sing-song manner? If your choice was the latter, read on! If it was the former - read again. You will not be able to resist the power of melody.
And who's behind this melody? The dynamic and versatile duo of Jatin-Lalit, who gave us super-hit songs like "Pehla Nasha", "Ae Kash Ke Hum", "Tujhe Dekha To", "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", and many more. Not to forget "Bin Tere Sanam", one of their earlier songs which was masterfully recreated and remixed by DJ Suketu. Nonetheless, the original has stood the test of time.
The name sounds familiar, doesn't it? You must have "See"n "the details on the inlay card" (if you remember the good ol' cassette tapes) or seen CD covers bearing their name beside the music personnel list. On Filmfare Awards - unfortunately, no.
Flashback.
Aana hi pada sajna, zaalim hai dil ki lagi.
Yaara Dildara. As cheezy as the title may sound to the audience of the 21st century, this movie is memorable. Its soundtrack is memorable. And as I slid its first-edition audio cassette into my Walkman, Side-A began with the feet-tapping "Bin Tere Sanam" starting off with a guitar riff, a drum fill and a sea-breeze, followed by generous servings of the typical Bollywood 90s "a-ha"s and "hey-hey"s.
This song dominated the charts. Jatin-Lalit were an overnight sensation.
Not to forget, the melodious, "Tum Hi Hamari Ho Manzil My Love". That "my love" cracks me up every time.
Khiladi, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar
1992 was a special year for three people. A. R. Rahman, because of Roja, débutant Shahrukh Khan, because of Deewana and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman and Jatin-Lalit, for the release of three stellar soundtracks, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Jo Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and Khiladi. All films boasted of a great star-cast, with Khiladi making Akshay Kumar a brand, RBGG making SRK the melody man of 1992 (both his début films had great music) and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar strengthening the Nasir-Mansoor-Aamir trio. But what does one remember the most about Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar besides the cycles and the edge-of-the-seat climax?
May I please have the piano? May I please have my crush beside me?
Well, the piano's here with an imaginary crush - oh, and she's singing!
"Chaahe tum kuch naa kaho...maine sun liya..."
"Pehla Nasha" was the rage back then among the love-birds, and has it aged like fine wine!
Khiladi also had its fair share of melodious songs like "Waada Raha Sanam", "Kya Khabar Thi Jaana" and "Dekha Teri Mast Nigahon Mein".
1993-94 saw Jatin-Lalit concretising their position in the music industry, competing with duos like Nadeem-Shravan (who were critical and commercial heart-throbs following the release of the soundtrack of Aashiqui in 1989-90), Anand-Milind and the waning but influential and respected Laxmikant-Pyarelal (who rocked the charts with Khalnayak in 1993). One individual who gave tough competition to them was none other than the Picasso of Bollywood music - Anu Malik, who won his first Filmfare Award for Best Music Director in 1994 for the SRK-starrer Baazigar.
Speaking of SRK, he and Jatin-Lalit have had great soundtracks for a decade, starting from Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992) to Chalte Chalte (2003). 1993-94 saw the release of a spectacular six-track soundtrack of Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Kundan Shah's musical masterpiece about a hopeless teenage romantic. Songs like "Ae Kaash Ke Hum" and "Deewana Dil Deewana" are still very popular on the radio.
But the Pandit brothers were yet to reach their peak.
Tujhe Dekha to Yeh Jaana Sanam
1995, Yash Chopra films had completed 22 years and it was time for Aditya Chopra to step into director daddy's shoes. Among the ranks of Karan Johar, I place Aditya Chopra's magnum opus Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge as one of the famous big fat débuts in Bollywood. Not to say that the movie was not short of anything but stunning. The acting, the locales, the music!
I guess the flow of the article has made it cliché enough to reveal DDLJ's soundtrack composers - Jatin-Lalit.
With a crew boasting of stalwarts like Lata Mangeshkar and popular singers like Udit Narayan and Kumar Sanu, and a lyricist like Anand Bakshi, Jatin-Lalit seemed to be microns in front of the big YRF banner, but they proved their mettle meticulously.
The soundtrack with evergreen songs like "Tujhe Dekha To", "Ruk Ja O Dil Deewane", "Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye", "Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main", "Mehendi Laga Ke Rakhna", "Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko To Pyar Sajna" and "Ghar Aaja Pardesi" (I wrote the entire tracklist!), DDLJ was a chartbuster in India with a whopping 25-100 million copies sold (pirated and original both.) Such was its legacy that in 2005, the album was judged the top Hindi soundtrack of all time by voters on the BBC Asian Network website. It won the hearts of critics and consumers alike.
The 1996 Filmfare Awards were dominated by DDLJ; it bagged the Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress awards among many others, much to the disappointment of runner-up Rangeela's crew. It, however, is interesting to note that the film did NOT win the Best Music Award, losing it to the maestro of Madras, A. R. Rahman, for a beautiful score in Rangeela. (I, personally am a Rahman fan, but felt really sad for Jatin-Lalit upon hearing the results of the awards.) If this was not heart-breaking enough, Kumar Sanu's consecutive winning streak, which had started off in 1991, broke off in 1996, as he lost "Tujhe Dekha To" to "Mehendi Laga Ke Rakhna" by fellow singer and crew member Udit Narayan. While both songs are good, I personally prefer the former to the latter.
I don't know how Jatin-Lalit must have felt about not getting the Best Music award, I feel they considered public admiration as a greater accolade than awards. Such love for their audience bettered their soundtracks even more.
Post DDLJ days: halfway into the 90s.
1996 saw Jatin-Lalit ruling the roost with the soundtrack of Khamoshi. This album gave us the bubbly, "Aaj Main Upar" and the romantic ballad "Baahon Ke Darmiyan". The soundtrack also featured "Jaana Suno Hum Tumpe Marte Hain" which uncannily resembles Paul Anka's song "Bring the Wine. Sceptical? Check out both the songs on YouTube. Khamoshi's soundtrack was also critically and commercially viable.
'96 also saw the release of one of my favourite albums of J-L: Fareb, which included the Filmfare nominated Abhijeet's "Ye Teri Aankhen Jhuki Jhuki" and the Udit-Alka helmed smooth romantic melody of "O Humsafar Dil Ke Nagar". This album was also quite popular back in the day and also features in my 90s Bollywood cassette collection.
The same year also saw the audio release of a movie titled Mr Aashiq (which later got released as Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan in 1999). Among other songs, one melodic one stood out: "Mera Chaand Mujhe Aaye Hai Nazar."
Towards the Millenium (1997-2000)
If 1997 is remembered for anything musical, it would be Yash Chopra's classic Dil to Pagal Hai with a memorable soundtrack by Uttam Singh. DTPH starred SRK, who featured in two other movies in '97 - Koyla and Yes Boss, the latter beating the former (in my view) in popular appeal. While Koyla was a Roshan venture, Yes Boss saw the team of Aziz Mirza, Juhi Chawla, SRK and Jatin-Lalit to unite again to create magic - encased in a six-track soundtrack cassette. Songs like "Main Koi Aisa Geet Gaaoon" and "Jaata Hai Tu Kahan?" were the first to grab my attention in childhood as TV channels blasted them off in those summer afternoons. Eventually, I heard the entire soundtrack and found it to my taste. My taste was and is highly J-L influenced. But this influence had just started to trickle in, it would be hardened in the coming years.
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)
Now, this is one essential J-L album (after DDLJ, of course.) Not just because it contains that one great title track, not just because it has the unrequited "Tujhe Yaad Na Meri Aayi", not for the "ho-ho"s of "Ladki Badi Anjani Hai" or the High School Musical "Koi Mil Gaya" (which masquerades as a substitute to the 2003-film soundtrack on music streaming platforms) but because it gels in with the J-L canon so well, that removing it makes the discography appear sufficient but incomplete. The popularity and freshness this film brought with it, barring the escapist impresarios of Johar Jr, is similar to that of DDLJ, because here too, a director was a débutant; here too, a father was putting his buck on his lad, here too, a sweet soundtrack was required, here too - Jatin-Lalit were summoned.
1998 also saw the release of other J-L hits such as "Ajnabi Mujhko Itna Bata" (which is a fake "Tujhe Dekha To" with the real Raj and Simran) and other Pyar to Hona Hi Tha songs. We had Aamir Khan's début song as a playback singer wherein he along with the Pandit brothers and Rani Mukerji took us all for surprise to Khandala: all in a saleable and hummable soundtrack of Ghulam, which also featured the pacy romantic duet "Aankhon Se Tune Ye Kya Keh Diya". Another audio treat was Sallu bhai's offering - Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai whose songs were quite popular too. Although we better know the Salman Khan of 1998 as a shirtless guy dancing to the tunes of a disconnected, powerless electric guitar to the beats of "O O Jane Jana". As said by VickyLeaks - a real DJ connects with the chicks, he doesn't need wires.
The Filmfare Awards happened and happened as they always happened. The poor duo lost it again to Rahman for his outstanding score for Dil Se.. This brings KKHH more closer to DDLJ in faring musical awards (for Filmfare.)
The 90s end with Sangharsh, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani
1999 saw J-L with some good songs on their discography, like "Dil Kya Kare", "Pyar Ke Liye Chaar Pal Kam Nahi The", "Mujhe Raat Din", "Dil Ka Qaraar", etc. A successful release that year was Sarfarosh, whose USP was the Golden-Eye theme song inspired "Jo Haal Dil Ka" and the Jagjit Singh song, "Hosh Walon ko Khabar Kya?" Sarfarosh's "Zindagi Maut na Ban Jaaye" projected the same emotions in the eyes of listeners, which Anu Malik sought to see two years back with "Sandese Aate Hain" from Border (probably because of the same two singers in both songs.) The year carried on with the pre-Y2K frenzy, new music, digital, electronic music. 2000 was supposed to be Hrithik Roshan's launching year, a man who was a familiar face on the FilmKraft sets as an AD. Due to some technical glitches, our flashback machine takes us to December 1999. This was a time where the stereos were cranked, Walkmans jammed, CD's unsealed and TV bombarded - all with one song - "Kaho Naa Pyar Hai". Hrithik Roshan was the style icon and the heartthrob of the ladies and gents. On the other side though, we had SRK, with lots of Dreamz. Producing Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani with the same team once again - Mirza, Chawla and the Pandits, he believed he was the best. The soundtrack might justify this a bit, but the movie's box office collections did not. SRK was fuming like a red chilly at the end of the decade.
The 2000s: YRF, YRF, YRF.
Sad violin.
Before this was a viral meme template, people, especially in India, knew only one sad violin tune.
*starts playing it in the background*
More maple leaves, please!
"Aaaah aaah aaaa....hmmmmm......"
Aditya Chopra's - Mohabbatein. A film with two biggies of Bollywood - Big B and SRK, and the rest, all youngsters. Wait, did I just ghost Aishwarya Rai Bachchan? I guess I did.
Enough of waffle, let's get down to the soundtrack.
For an avid listener of J-L, I can judge that J-L focussed more on the melody of the songs rather than the rhythm and beats of it (following the coveted Nadeem-Shravan trend of the early 90s.) Part of the songs begin with the beating of a dhol, part of them begin with the signature "Hum Ko Humise Churalo" violin tune, part of them begin with "aah"s and "ooh"s, and the rest from dialogues and instrumental pieces. On the whole, the soundtrack may sound repetitive at times but is a pleasant listen. All the songs of Mohabbatein carry with them an autumn breeze, neither too warm, nor harshly cold - but covertly reeking of the air of separation from a loved one.
The second YRF movie on the list is about cartoons. H-T and its soundtrack ends with a track called "U-N-I." Confused with the cryptic alphabetical overdose? The answer is Hum Tum. This 2004 film has some of the most memorable childhood tracks (for me.) I still remember cranking up my stereo and running around the house listening to "Chak De" or making the bed a trampoline by dancing to "Ladki Kyon" or testing my new bass speakers to "U-N-I (Mere Dil Vich)" (the title track would hit me harder as a teen, I realise now.) The soundtrack was a typical J-L one - melodious and rhythmic.
Things were going well for J-L financially. Their albums were selling like hot-cakes, but their first Filmfare Award was yet to grace their shelf. Their last album together was Fanaa, after which they parted ways. With memorable songs like "Chand Sifarish". "Mere Haath Mein" and "Dekho Na", Jatin-Lalit put their best foot forward this time too, but, as fate would have it, lost to Rahman for his score for Rang de Basanti.
For everyone's reference, I've sourced an all-time sales sheet for J-L's albums.
| Film | Year | Units Sold |
|---|---|---|
| Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge | 1995 | 20,000,000 |
| Kuch Kuch Hota Hai | 1998 | 8,500,000 |
| Mohabbatein | 2000 | 6,000,000 |
| Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham | 2001 | 4,000,000 |
| Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya | 1998 | 3,500,000 |
| Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha | 1998 | 3,200,000 |
| Yes Boss | 1997 | 3,000,000 |
| Ghulam | 1998 | 2,500,000 |
| Khiladi | 1992 | 2,500,000 |
| Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander | 1992 | 2,500,000 |
| Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai | 1998 | 2,000,000 |
| Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman | 1992 | 1,800,000 |
| Fanaa | 2006 | 1,700,000 |
| Hum Tum | 2004 | 1,600,000 |
| Total sales | 62,800,000 |
I would say that Jatin-Lalit were like Salman Khan in their fate at the Filmfare Awards. Both of them share the record of being nominated the maximum number of times in their respective fields (Best Music Director and Best Actor) but have won none. Here's the catch, though - Jatin-Lalit were loved by both critics and audience (and they were not trolled incessantly on social media like Bhai). Blame their star-crossed discography, blame the jury, blame the competition, blame anything - the record stands unmoved and the duo is incognito.
Thus, abruptly I may end, but I need to point out one thing, that J-L were one of my favourite music director duos, I really need them and their kind of music, my kind of music back. But I am afraid, that they may find an audience, but no awards. Had I been a part of the Filmfare jury, the Special Award for Best Music in 2001, would have gone to Mohabbatein if Refugee could also be given the same.
But then, I quote myself again,
"I feel they considered public admiration as a greater accolade than awards. Such love for their audience bettered their soundtracks even more."
Long live the Pandit bros. Long live melody.
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