Jatin–Lalit

Jatin–Lalit is an Indian music director duo consisting of brothers Jatin Pandit and Lalit Pandit. They are celebrated for their contribution to Bollywood music during the 1990s and early 2000s. The duo is known for their melodious compositions and has been associated with several hit films. Some of their most famous works include Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, and Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha.

Jatin–Lalit is their professional name and appears on the covers of their music albums, CDs and DVDs.

Jatin and Lalit come from a musical family originating from Pili Mandori village in Hissar district of Haryana state. Classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj was their uncle. They received their musical education primarily from their father, Pandit Pratap Narayan. They were taught guitar and piano by Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma, of the Laxmikant–Pyarelal duo.

Hindi film actresses Sulakshana Pandit and Vijayta Pandit are their sisters, and late music director Aadesh Shrivastava was their brother-in-law, being married to the younger of the sisters, Vijayta.

The creation of the pair Jatin–Lalit was by accident. In the early 80s, Jatin teamed up with Mandheer (elder brother) to team up as Jatin-Mandheer. This pair never had any big hits to their name. However, they earned the badge of working with legends - Kishore Kumar-Wafaa (1990) and Mohd Rafi - Dil Hi Dil Main (1982). Lalit, the youngest brother, was discovering his love for music. Since, the Jatin-Mandheer pair didn't really sizzle in the circuit, and Lalit was eager to make a mark as well, it was decided to revisit the music combination, and thus Jatin -Lalit - the duo, was formed. Their first foray as a pair was a private album Rhythmic Love. This album had quite a few songs, which were later recreated by the pair, in successful films like Yaara Dildaara, Yes Boss.

They began their career in 1991, composing music for the Hindi movie Yaara Dildara. Although the film was a Romantic Film, its music was the biggest hit. The evergreen famous song of the movie was "Bin Tere Sanam", which topped the charts. They were first noticed for their work on the soundtrack of the movie Khiladi and for "Pehla Nasha", a romantic song from Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, the film that earned them their first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. Their other film score of 1992, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman was also very successful. Their compositions are strongly influenced by R. D. Burman's style of music-making. In 1994, they composed the successful soundtrack to the Shahrukh Khan-starrer Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. Jatin–Lalit's score for the cult classic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge was a massive success, and is remembered as one of the all-time best Bollywood soundtracks, earning them their second nomination at the Filmfare Awards. It is the 5th highest selling Bollywood soundtrack of all time. Following this, their successful scores for Khamoshi: The Musical (1996) and Yes Boss (1997), which earned them their third and fourth nominations at the Filmfare Awards, thus cementing their place as Bollywood's top music directors.

Jatin–Lalit's next big success came with Karan Johar's debut directorial, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, which sold 8.5 million copies and earned them their fifth nomination for Best Music Director at the Filmfare Awards. Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha, in the same year, and Sarfarosh, in 1999 were also appreciated, earning them their sixth and seventh nominations at the Filmfare Awards. Mohabbatein, (2000) directed by Aditya Chopra won acclaim, and the song "Humko Humise Chura Lo" became a classic. This soundtrack earned them their eighth nomination at the Filmfare Awards, as was Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), another famous soundtrack that included songs such as "Bole Chudiyaan", which earned them their ninth Filmfare Award nomintation. Before their split in 2006, some of their successful soundtracks include Chalte Chalte (2003), Hum Tum (2004) and Fanaa (2006), their final collaboration. The three movies won them their tenth, eleventh and twelfth nominations at the Filmfare Awards. Despite being nominated 12 times, Jatin–Lalit never won a Filmfare Award, and hold the record for the most nominations without ever winning.

They have composed a total of 473 songs in 72 films. The duo has worked with a variety of lyricists; Majrooh Sultanpuri, Gopaldas Neeraj, Anand Bakshi, Sameer, Javed Akhtar and singers including Amit Kumar, Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Udit Narayan, Hariharan, Sonu Nigam, K.S. Chithra, Anuradha Paudwal, Alka Yagnik, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sadhana Sargam, Shaan, Babul Supriyo and many others. Veteran singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Jagjit Singh have also sung in a few movies for the duo.