Interview : Lyricist Sameer completes his

Sameer, son of the late veteran lyricist Anjaan, had kept a record of the films that he has done and realized that the latest film he had signed - none other than Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Saawariya - was his 500th Hindi film. Hardly had he realized this that Madhur Bhandarkar and music director Shameer Tandon approached him for the third in Madhur's Mumbai trilogy, Traffic Signal. "This became my 501st film!" exults the writer who took off in 1982 with Usha Khanna's Bekhabar. In many ways, 2006 is a landmark year for contemporary Hindi cinema's most prolific writer. It is his 25th year in action, he is an integral part of the astounding Himesh Reshammiya phenomenon, and is set to release his book as well as commemorate his illustrious dad on the occasion of his 10th death anniversary later this year.

Excerpts from an interview:

500 films in 25 years, plus other work. How do you think you managed it?

It's all God's will, and His and my parents' blessings as well as my golden luck in getting the best associates among filmmakers and music directors. My wife and my children too have played a major role, understood my workaholic temperament and the demands of this profession.

What changes do we see in Sameer the lyricist after 500 films?

Not just 500 Hindi films but also 20 Bhojpuri films and more albums than any other lyricist! (Smiles). I was planning to curtail work for two years and now I am going to do it. In a way it will be easier now, because work has reduced and become dissipated. Except for Himesh Reshammiya and me, there is no team around as was the case with Nadeem-Shravan and Anand-Milind with me, my father with Bappi Lahiri and Kalyanji-Anandji or Anand Bakshi with Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Besides, the days are gone when a music director would sign 30, 40 or 50 films. Today he can have just about 10-12 releases every year - if he is able to be prolific. So today, apart from Himesh's work, I have only a few other assignments.

Your list of filmmakers is almost comprehensive.

I think that the true indicator of an artiste's success is how much he is repeated by a banner or a director, because that is almost entirely dictated by your work- quality and comfort zone. Yes, joint success does have a role, par agar kaam accha hua hai aur acchi tarah se hua hai then it is natural that you will want to keep working again and again. When relationships are formed, even hits and flops cease to matter. And this is only possible when you are down-to-earth and focus only on work rather than manipulations. This is when they return to you even if they go elsewhere and even if they score a hit or two with others. I have seen this happen with seniors and I feel nice that it's often been the same with me.

Which music directors would you say have a major role in your success?

Each of them right up to Himesh Reshammiya have had a special role in my life. My earliest successes were with Anand-Milind and Nadeem-Shravan, and Nadeem had paid me the ultimate compliment when a journalist asked him why he did not work with others by stating that for him I was bigger than Bakshi-ji and Majrooh-saab - it showed how much he valued me. When A-M and N-S had professional problems, it was Anu Malik who bailed me out with a chain of films together - and that is something that I can never forget or hope to repay. During this phase Jatin-Lalit were also very supportive and we did great work together as well. Even the music directors with whom I did just a few films all contributed to my career, whether it was Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Bappi Lahiri, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy or now Ilayaraja with whom I am doing Bharatiraaja's 100th film Cinema after working on Hey! Ram.

You have been the low profile but constant and equal part of the current Himesh phenomenon. But there has been no hype about you?

You have to understand one thing: it is Himesh Reshammiya as a singer jisne hungama kiya hai- as a composer he has been doing great work since Tere Naam three years ago! It is Himesh the singer who is taking centerstage, just the way Kishore Kumar would for a 'Khaike paan Banaraswala'(Don) along with Amitabh Bachchan. Kalyanji-Anandji and my father cannot hope to get the same credit. That's how it has always been.

But Himesh Reshammiya the composer has played a very major role in my career: it was he who called me one day and with great respect and gentleness told me that we had to change with the times. It was he who cajoled me into thinking of new, younger colours and avenues, because he had shrewdly guaged the changing audience. He told me, "I am telling you this because I am changing my music and I know that I can do this only with you and no one else!" Shaayad yeh ooparwale ko manzoor tha that I should re-invent and think young, and come to share his success.

Which are the non-Himesh films that you feel charged about?

Aadesh Shrivastava has done some very impressive work in B.R.Chopra's Babul. Pritam's music in Dhoom 2 is better than even Dhoom - I think that the score will create another sensation like the predecessor. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and I are working on two major projects - Nikhil Advani's Salaam-E-Ishq and Sajid Nadiadwala's and Sajid Khan's O Baby, which is very special to me because it reunites me with Sajid Nadiadwala, with whom I had an unbroken association from his first film Zulm Ki Hukumat in 1992 to Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, in which I wrote one song.
As for Saawariya and Traffic Signal, I expect them to be milestones.

Source:MusicIndiaOnLine.com

Now Sameer goes South
By Taran Adarsh,

Lyricist Sameer, who completes 25th year of his career as song writer this year and has bagged his 500th film -- Sanjay Leela Bhansali's SAAWARIYA -- has now stormed the South film industry. He has bagged three prestigious films in South: Kamal Haasan's DASAVATHARAM and Singeetham Srinivasa Rao's 3-D animation film MAYA BAZAR. Both the films have music by Himesh Reshammiya. In the third film, Sameer will work with the legendary Ilayaraja.

So far, Sameer has written 5000 songs, including private albums.

Originally posted by: Swar_Raj

Jai ho HR Bhagwan ki 😆

he didn't write all songs for HR😕

thanks for sharing 😊