In filmmaker Yash Chopra’s Veer-Zaara (2004), the now-familiar Do pal ruka khwabon ka kaarvaan arrived with the syntax and sensibility of a bygone era. Composer Madan Mohan’s melody, discovered and used posthumously in Lata Mangeshkar and Sonu Nigam’s voices, was built on pauses, a poignant string section, and a gnawing ache as two star-crossed lovers separated.

Shot at a train station, imagined as Attari, it wasn’t as immediate as many love songs were in Hindi films post the ’90s. Ones that didn’t hide behind a metaphor, and instead looked love square in the eye — ones that a shaggy-haired and charming Shah Rukh Khan had already been very convincing at. That raised eyebrow (Ek din aap yun humko, Yes Boss), the dimpled, impish half-smile between longing and surrender (Meri mehbooba, P

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