Mumbai, May 24 : Lyricist and poet Manoj Muntashir has revealed a fascinating piece of music history, as he opened up about the ageless connection between the songs 'Tere Liye' and the 40-year-old classic 'Dil Dhoondta Hai'.

The tune for the Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta-starrer song 'Tere Liye' from the 2004 romantic drama 'Veer-Zaara' was crafted using the rejected melodies of Madan Mohan's 'Dil Dhoondta Hai' from the 1975 film 'Mausam'.

Manoj, who appeared on the 'Superstar Singer 3', shared that the original composition by Madan Mohan was appreciated by the filmmaker Yash Chopra, who was a huge fan of Madan.

"Decades later, while working on 'Veer-Zaara,' Yash combined this tune with Javed Akhtar's exceptional lyrics. This was a historic moment in Hindi cinema, when maybe for the first time, a composer's music was used in his honour, highlighting Madan's continuing impact through Javed Akhtar Sahab's magnificent words," he said.

The new episode paid a touching tribute to the Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar, in the 'Lata Night' episode.

The 13-year-old Kshitij Saxena from Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh, who teamed up with his captain, Sayli Kamble, left the audience spellbound with their duet performance of 'Aapki Nazron Ne Samjha' from the movie 'Anpadh' and 'Tere Liye'.

Mesmerised by the performance, Manoj said: "Today, the captain sang beautifully, and their talented team followed suit. I can confidently say that the legacy of Lata Mangeshkar is in the right hands."

Super Judge Neha Kakkar said: "Your singing has such depth, Kshitij, it's truly amazing. Both songs were beautiful, but 'Tere Liye' - what a composition, what lyrics. Let's give a round of applause for Javed Sahab and Madan Mohan Sahab. When a song is so beautiful, it becomes our responsibility to do it justice, and you both did exactly that."

"Last time, Sayli and I had a personal conversation, and your heart was broken because you felt you couldn't do what you wanted to do singing-wise in the last episode. But what you did today with 'Tere Liye' feels like a gift that I'm taking away from here. Sayli, you sang so beautifully," she added.

'Superstar Singer 3' airs on Sony.

/IANS