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.