The Guinness World Records recently recognized Bollywood lyricist Sameer Anjaan and named him a world record holder on 17 February 2016. Considering that most of us unfortunately pay little attention to the lyricists of the songs that we hum and sing and dance to, few of us probably know why this is so. And yet the man has penned over three thousand songs for Hindi movies; 3,524 to be precise!
Sameer or Shitala Pandey to use his given name is the officially the most prolific lyricist; having worked for some 650 movies since his debut in 1983. Here are some of Sameer’s best known and most beloved songs:
Nazar Ke Saamne – Aashiqui (1991)
The stars of this movie may be nowhere to be seen these days, but this song has remained in the collective musical memory of the nation.
Ghungat Ke Aad Se – Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1984)
Ghungat Ke Aad Se – Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke
Starring Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla in their inimitable innocent avatar or yore, this was a cute film with some fairly memorable songs.
Ladki Badi Anjaani Hai – Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1999)
Ladki Badi Anjaani Hai – Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was a huge hit for so many reasons: the Jodi of Jodis: SRK and Kajol, the eternal love triangle, cute kids, families and songs that are still remembered.
Tum Dil Ki Dhadkan Me – Dhadkan (2001)
Tum Dil Ki Dhadkan Me – Dhadkan
This was a passionate love story and the tale of an unfulfilled love triangle that gave us some of the biggest hit songs of that time.
Crazy Kiya Re – Dhoom 2 (2007)
Not exactly the height of fine verse there, but this song was a real floor filler. Its lyrics are rather fitting too… Aishwarya Rai was at her most irresistible in this film.
Jab Se Tere Naina – Saawariya (2008)
This was Ranbir Kapoor’s debut film and the song made famous for the actor’s full monty (of sorts) is actually pretty good as well.
Dagabaaz re – Dabangg 2 (2013)
Yes, Sameer was the lyricist for the songs of this Salman Khan starrer as well.
So as one can see, India and the world’s most prolific lyricist deserves his fame; Sameer Anjaan has been a consistent part of Hindi filmdom’s firmament and has been responsible for contributing to some of the most significant hit songs of the past few decades.
Author – Reena Daruwalla
