He writes ‘simply’ what his listeners speak...

(Interaction with lyricist Sameer when he was in Nagpur on a private visit. This was published in The Hitavada on June 12)

After knock on his room’s door, a five-and-a-half-feet fair middle aged man in a French cut wearing a simple white shirt and denim jeans welcomed us with assured smile. When asked for a few minutes from his busy schedule, he sat relaxed and said “Chahe jitni bate kar lo yaar, koi bat nahi.” This is Sameer’s simplicity which makes him the lyricist who, for the past 25 years, has captured successfully the spirit of the Indian youth in his songs. He knows the youths’ pulse, their dreams, their hopes and their concerns. And by articulating them in a language they understand, he has now emerged as the voice of GenNext.

Being updated…

Sameer had worked with all top notch music composers, from Usha Khanna to Anand-Milind to Jatin-Lalit and Anu Malik to Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen, and of course, Nadeem-Shravan. Presently, he is working with the third generation of music directors that is Vishal Shekhar, Adesh Shrivastava, and his favorite Himesh Reshammiya. “As a lyricist, I have to give the composers exactly what they want. With new demands of new generation, I have to keep myself updated. I read a lot, observe a lot, and interact a lot for this,” says Sameer.



Words first or tune?

The conflict is well known. A few senior lyricists believe that arranging words on the pre-decided tune is like a murder of lyricist’s creativity and freedom. However, Sameer has a different opinion. “Vice versa, it may be the murder of music director’s creativity and freedom if he had to arrange the pre-written words mandatorily to the tunes. Making film is a team work, and a very technical thing. We have to adapt our self with the new concepts in order to survive. However, real skill and challenge is in maintaining your quality of words in this scenario,” he adds. He believes that his success from last twenty five years speaks a lot about himself.

Record breaking work …

Till date Sameer has written over 4000 songs for about 500 Hindi and Bhojpuri films and 35 private albums. This is a world record. He has won three Filmfare Awards for best lyricist. However, he works for people and not to make or break any records.

On reality shows…

Sameer believes, reality shows bring good talent to fore, but the contestants rarely have future after the contest ends. He adds, the contests give excessive glamour to the participants. Gradually, they start losing modesty. “This is serious. You must be modest when you are in the field of art,” says Sameer who wrote ‘Mohabbate Lutaunga’ theme song for first Indian Idol Abhijeet Sawant’s debut album. Sameer says, every person is talented; however, the need is to realize and nurture it. “Many youngsters write exceptionally well. They must develop their skill.”



On media…

Sameer believes, celebrities run away from media as it spreads misconceptions to gain TRP. “They misquote us, give wrong opinions. They decide who is culprit and who is innocent even before the court does. This is unfortunate,” he laments.

On Nagpur…

“I am here for the first time. However, this city feels really refreshing. ‘Yaha ki Aabo Hawa me sukun hai, Shanti Hai,’ says Sameer who also praises the greenery of the Orange City.


(Photos by Anil Futane)