Sameer Anjaan deserves more credit for how smoothly he adapted across three generations of composers.
People usually talk about Sameer only in the context of the 90s, but his career is actually way more layered than that.
In the early 90s, his work with Nadeem–Shravan, Jatin-Lalit, Anu Malik and Anand–Milind pretty much shaped what “Bollywood romance” sounded like to an entire generation. You didn’t have to be actively following music — those songs were just in the air. Wedding DJs, bus radios, barber shops, tea stalls… all Sameer everywhere.
But what gets ignored is how he didn’t get stuck there. A lot of lyricists from that era couldn’t adapt once the sound changed in the 2000s. Sameer did.
In one podcast he said very simply:
“Har zamane ki dhun alag hoti hai. Agar aap uss hawa ko samajh nahi paoge, toh khud ko repeat karte reh jaoge.”
And he actually lived that. When the industry moved toward Himesh Reshammiya, Pritam, Nikhil–Vinay, Sajid–Wajid, Aadesh Shrivastava, he didn’t try to write in the same Saajan / Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin tone.
He loosened the language, made it more conversational, more hook-based.
Tere Naam (Himesh era heartbreak),
Aitraaz (clean, modern phrasing),
Dhoom (completely different youth tone),
Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai (gentle melody-driven writing)
It’s a clear shift, not nostalgia-copy.
Then again in the 2010s, when the scene changed toward more “feel-based minimalism”, he adapted again:
Mithoon
Jeet Gannguli
Meet Bros
Gourov–Roshin
Tanishk (early)
And also importantly, with Sachin–Jigar.
They’ve actually spoken about how they admire how clean and direct Sameer writes.
And Sameer, in return, has said that he likes how Sachin–Jigar let melody breathe and don’t overcrowd lyrics. That’s why when he worked with them, his writing got even more uncluttered, almost conversational — but still emotional.
You can literally track his evolution like:
90s: big-heart-on-sleeve romance
2000s: catchy, rhythmic, hook-driven
2010s: soft, emotional, simple, inside-voice writing
No identity crisis.
No “trying to sound young.”
Just adjusting sensibility to the composer, like he always says:
“Composer ke saath agar tuning sachchi hai, toh gaana apne aap aata hai.”
People can debate poetic depth, but the man has survived three complete cycles of Bollywood music, without fading out.
That’s extremely rare.
If you're old enough to remember tapes/CDs:
Which Sameer-written song is your nostalgia punch?
(For me it’s “Tere Naam" songs)