20 years of Veer-Zaara: How Yash Chopra used later composer Madan Mohan's melodies

20 years of Veer-Zaara: Madan Mohan’s son Sanjeev Kohli recounts how father’s music made it to Shah Rukh Khan-Preity Zinta’s film, thanks to Yash Chopra

On the 20th anniversary of Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta’s Veer-Zaara, Sanjeev Kohli, son of legendary music composer Madan Mohan, opened up about the creation of the film’s iconic soundtrack.

He shared that the romantic drama became not only a tribute to his father’s musical genius but also a heartfelt realisation of a son’s dedication to preserving his father’s lasting legacy. Kohli shared anecdotes about the time when the late Yash Chopra used his father’s old compositions for Veer-Zaara. “Veer-Zaara, for me, was the realisation of a dream that I could never believe would ever come true. It was a realisation of a son’s dream for his father’s musical legacy. When my father, the late composer Madan Mohan, passed away in 1975, he was only 51 years old. A lot of music [was] still to be created, a lot of tunes, yet to be shared with the world, and a lot yet to be achieved! He was widely acknowledged as a great composer but big banners, films with big stars, and popular awards always eluded him. This hurt him deeply,” he shared.

Kohli added that the film needed music that was devoid of the western influences evident in this day and age. “It needed music that was based on ethnic sounds and had a strong [melodic] line with acoustic instruments, like that of Heer Ranjha and Laila Majnu. Yash added that he had sittings with various composers of today, but [the samples] were missing that old melodic charm [he desired]. I blurted that I had some old-world melodies on tape, now, not heard for 28 years. He seemed excited with the idea.” Chopra urged him to find his father’s forgotten tunes. “I was told to hear as many tapes as I could, and play some selected tunes to them. I loved four songs that I knew would work even today. When Yash ji and Adi heard them, they reacted very positively.”

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