Sameer

24 Feb, 1958 | Odaar Village, near Benaras, Uttar Pradesh

Lyricst/Music Director/Singer

Biography

Sameer is an Indian lyricist, mainly writing lyrics for songs in Hindi films. He is the son of noted Hindi lyricist, Anjaan (Lalji Pandey). Since the beginning of his career, Sameer has penned around 4,000 songs in over 500 Hindi films and more than 130 songs in 23 regional films, including Bhojpuri and Marathi language films. He has won three Filmfare Awards. Sameer, officially named Shitala Pandey, but commonly known by his nickname Rajan, was born near Benaras, Uttar Pradesh. He earned a Master of Commerce degree at the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, and started working as a bank officer at the Central Bank of India. However, a few days after joining, he left the job because according to him, he "knew the bank was not my world". In order to pursue a career as a lyricist, he moved to Mumbai in 1980. Career Sameer started his career as a lyricist in 1983 with the film Bekhabar (1983).The first film song he recorded was Maar Ke Kataaree Mar Jaibe for the Bhojpuri film Bairi Saawan (1984) sung by Suresh Wadkar and Preeti Sagar. According to Sameer, his inspirations have been lyricists Majrooh Sultanpuri and Anand Bakshi, and his father, Anjaan, a leading lyricist. He has said on several occasions that, "Whatever I am today is only because of my father. Some of his most successful songs include songs in films like Beta, Saajan, Raja Babu, Coolie No. 1, Raja Hindustani, Anjaam, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Fiza, Dhadkan, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Devdas, Raaz, Dil Hai Tumhaara, Tere Naam, No Entry, Aksar, Dhoom 2, Saawariya and more. The famous music composer duo Nadeem-Shravan chose Sameer as their lyricist for most of their works. Personal A quiet, unassuming man in his private life, Sameer is married to Anita Pandey and the couple have three children: Sanchita, Suchita (daughters) and Siddhesh (son). His mother, Indira Pandey, lives with them. A biography, "Sameer - A Way with Words" by Derek Bose was released by Amitabh Bachchan in 2007.