Dil Chahta Hai (soundtrack)

Initially, director Farhan Akhtar had approached A. R. Rahman for composing the music. But since Rahman was busy with other engagements, he did not accept the offer.[4] Later Rahman commented that he was glad that the project went to Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy and he personally loved their work in the film.[5]

The album has a universal sound, unlike other Bollywood soundtracks of the time. The trio had various influences, including Irish and ethno. Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy along with Farhan Akhtar, Javed Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani went to Khandala to finalize the songs, which took a mere three and a half days. When they came back, they booked a studio and completed the recording in three weeks.[6] They also used the Australian instrument Didgeridoo, a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia at least 1,500 years ago[7] for the song "Jaane Kyon".[8] They've also used various other traditional instruments like Dholak, Kanjira, Tabla and Flute. Also, the song 'Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe' had three maestros (Shankar, Shaan, KK) coming together for the first time.

Dil Chahta Hai is considered to be pathbreaking and one of the best soundtracks to have emerged in contemporary Indian music.[1] The soundtrack stayed away from traditional Bollywood sounds and instead set a new standard for edgy, rock-influenced sounds.[11] The way Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy used thickly layered orchestration and conveyed meaning through Timbre, Pitch and Melody rather than text, was then, probably new to Bollywood.[12] Planet Bollywood's 100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks Ever read, "What made Dil Chahta Hai album special at that time was that it was an experimental album and it worked a huge way."[3] According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 20,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's eighth highest-selling.[13]