The first sitting at Yash Chopra’s residence, with his entire family in attendance, went on for four-and-a-half hours during which brothers, Jatin and Lalit Pandit, showcased their best compositions. Among them was a song that went “Mehndi Laga Ke Chalna, Payal Baja Ke Chalna, Par Aashiqon Se Apna Daman Bacha Ke Chalna”. A month-and-a-half later, Yash ji’s elder son, Aditya, called them in the midst of a recording for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Khamoshi: The Musical , asking if they could zip across to the office during lunch break. “There he asked if “Mehndi” was still available and looked relieved when we answered in the affirmative, admitting that it was apt for a situation in the film. That’s when we learnt that Adi would be making his debut as a director with Yash ji’s next production, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,” recounts Lalit, remembering how veteran lyricist Anand Bakshi turned up with 25 kamaal ke antaras and together, they had come up with the unforgettable “Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna, Doli Saja Ke Rakhna, Lene Tujhe O Gori, Ayenge Tere Sajna”.

At that marathon session, they’d also hummed a tune which had stayed with the Chopras. Penned by Bakshi saab, “Mere Khwaabon Mein Jo Aaye” was the first song to be recorded for the film. It was a solo by Lata Mangeshkar who was delighted to see the “kids” doing such good work and was generous with her inputs. “During the dubbing, Didi suggested she sing the line, 'Aa Ke Mujhe Chhed Jaaye' in a way that reflected the girl’s wonder, as the man of her dreams flits into her fantasy to flirt with her, pointing out that it would help the actress while enacting it on screen. Since that day, I’ve learnt to give expressions to my compositions,” admits Lalit.

Over the next six months, the Pandits came up with several chartbusters, from the folky “Ghar Aaja Pardesi”, beautifully rendered by Pam Chopra and Manpreet Kaur and carrying the fragrance of Indian culture, to the intoxicating “Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main”, which had an inebriated Simran going totally berserk. “The latter was very different from the slow, slurry, nashiley numbers of the past. Asha ji (Bhosle) who sang the duet with Abhijeet (Bhattacharya), was at her ‘champion’ best, setting the recording room on fire with her very first alaap, then, going on to give an innovative twist to Bakshi saab’s words, ‘Thandi Thandi Pavan’, during the dubbing,” the music director reminisces.

Thanks to Kajol’s uninhibited histrionics, Shah Rukh’s soulful eyes and innate charm, its debutant director’s song picturisation, enhanced by his Yash ji’s large-heartedness, DDLJ topped a 2005 poll conducted by the BBC Asian Network as the best Hindi soundtrack of all time, nudging out classics like Pyaasa and Guide. Bakshi saab bagged Filmfare’s Black Lady for Best Lyricist for “Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana Sanam”, voted Song of the Year.

For Lalit “Tujhe Dekha” brings back memories of Lataji, a one-take artiste, giving retakes after retakes, because they wanted her to sing “La La La La La”, as Kajol looks into her future with Raj, in a particular way. “Of course, she got it right and then Adi took the song into the mustard fields of Punjab to immortalise it. DDLJ set a world record as the longest-running film and 'Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana Sanam' would remain the clarion call to lovers,” says a still awed Lalit.

The film opened in theatres on October 20, 1995. Lalit recalls how, after the premiere at Mumbai’s Excelsior theatre, as he nervously waited with his brother and the Chopras, trying to gauge the industry’s reaction to their love story, late producer F C Mehra, who was like a father figure, suddenly walked up and embraced him, saying, “Puttar tussi kar dikhaya hai (Son, you have proved yourself with this film).”

Twenty-five years later, people are still humming “Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jaana Sanam” even as they fall in love with Raj and Simran, all over again.