"Dil Chahta Hai"'s style extended to the music and its picturisation. Initially, director Farhan Akhtar had approached A. R. Rahman for composing the music. But since Rahman was busy with other engagements, he did not accept the offer. Later Rahman commented that he was glad that the project went to Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and he personally loved their work in the film. One song sequence recapitulates and, to some extent, parodies Bollywood song-and-dance history. Other songs drop the usual dance accompaniment – one depicts an argument between two protagonists through the song's lyrics, another establishes the character's state of mind through a moody photo collage, while yet another imagines the beautiful and idealised world of an artist in love through a song inside a painting. There is an extended opera sequence at the Sydney Opera House, which was exclusively commissioned for the film.