Two of Bollywood's legendary figures - Yash Chopra and Lata Mangeshkar - have just created musical history.

The music score for Chopra's new directorial venture "Veer-Zaara", which was released Saturday on the occasion of Ganesha Chaturthi has trodden the unconventional path.

The soundtrack is historic on several counts. Yash Chopra has launched his own music label, Yash Raj Music, with this premium product.

"I had no choice in the matter. I never intended to start my own music company. But the music business is in the doldrums. All the music companies are dictating terms on how music albums should look and sound. To keep my head high I've started my music company with 'Veer-Zaara'," Chopra told IANS.

"Veer-Zaara" also brings the unused music of late composing maestro Madan Mohan to today's listeners. Two days after the release of the epic soundtrack, Chopra is on cloud nine.

"I never had the good fortune to work with Madan Mohan when he was alive. Now, thanks to his son Sanjeev Kohli, and thanks to Madan Mohanji, and my favorite voice of Lata Mangeshkar, we've created an album that's completely removed from the sound we hear these days. Let's hope listeners respond warmly to the sound."

The biggest and most talked-about aspect of the soundtrack is the voice of Lata.

"It's unbelievable that even today people want to hear my voice. It's god's grace, what else can I say? All the hard work seems to be paying off."

"I must say I was extremely apprehensive about doing 'Veer-Zaara'. These are tunes composed by Madan Mohan bhaiyya who has done his best work, and mine, during his lifetime. People would be expecting us to recreate the magic of our songs together like 'Lag ja gale se' and 'Sapnon mein agar mere tum aao...'.

"Thanks to Yashji's belief that I could carry it off even at my age, I did it."