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. During the last few years of their joint career, their music albums contained several songs composed by other musicians. This practice was not liked by Jatin–Lalit; however, the producer and director insisted on it. In
Karan Johar's
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, two of the tracks were composed by
Sandesh Shandilya. In
Chalte Chalte,
Aadesh Shrivastava composed several songs, while in
Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, one song was composed by
Himesh Reshammiya and
Sajid–Wajid. They were among the first composers to write songs performed by
Bollywood film stars rather than playback singers. They specially composed "
Aati Kya Khandala" in the film
Ghulam for the lead actor
Aamir Khan. Later, they also composed a song for
Sanjay Dutt to sing in the film
Khoobsurat. Jatin–Lalit has composed the highest-selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year on four occasions –
Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge in 1995,
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai in 1998,
Mohabbatein in 2000, and
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham in 2001. The duo has been accused of plagiarism. Indian music critic
Karthik Srinivasan, on his website
ItwoFS, which tracks plagiarism in the Indian film music industry, lists 23 such tunes. Among those is
Suno Zara from the movie
Bada Din (1998) allegedly taken from
Anne Murray’s
You Needed Me (1978).
The separation and reunion After working for almost 16 years together, they announced that they would be parting ways due to personal problems. Reasons for the separation still are unknown. In February 2020, the Jatin–Lalit duo came together and organised a concert in Mumbai which was very well received and in which numerous leading Bollywood singers performed.
Solo careers Lalit and Jatin have continued to compose separately. Lalit scored the 2007 film,
Life Mein Kabhie Kabhiee,
Showbiz,
Horn Ok Pleassss and
Dulha Mil Gaya. Jatin composed the score for Saurav Shukla's film,
I Am 24, starring
Neha Dhupia and
Rajat Kapoor. It is a Planman Motion Films Presentation. He composed for
Raja Sen's film
Krishnakanter Will. "I am working on the number. I am trying to make it in such a way that it goes along with the novel written by Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay. The song will be melody-based," says Jatin. He recorded an album for the president of the Indian Business and Professional Council, Abbas Ali Mirza. He is doing the Music for Kundan Shah's next. Considering the strong track record Jatin–Lalit had with Kundan Shah, this film could be the next
Kabhi Haa Kabhi Naa for Jatin. Jatin is working on the maiden venture of Gazebo Entertainment's "Saturday Night". Lalit composed the song "
Munni Badnaam Hui" for
Dabangg (2010). The song has become hugely popular among the masses. He won the
Filmfare Award for Best Music Director with
Sajid–Wajid in 2011 for the soundtrack of the film, particularly for its quirky lyrics and dancing choreography.
Collaboration with singers Jatin–Lalit is most remembered for their collaboration with
Alka Yagnik. They composed 136 songs for her and this team has become one of the most sought-after singer-composer duos in music history alongside
Asha Bhosle–
R. D. Burman,
Asha Bhosle–
O. P. Nayyar,
Asha Bhosle–
Bappi Lahiri,
Lata Mangeshkar–
Laxmikant-Pyarelal,
Lata Mangeshkar–
R. D. Burman,
Lata Mangeshkar–
Shankar–Jaikishan,
Lata Mangeshkar–
Madan Mohan,
Lata Mangeshkar–
S. D. Burman,
Lata Mangeshkar–
Salil Chowdhury,
Lata Mangeshkar–
Khayyam etc. Among males, Jatin–Lalit's most favourite were
Kumar Sanu and
Udit Narayan. They equally propelled their career with hit after hit, with both singers singing over 100 songs each for them. ==Non-music work==