In a country where all commercial movies are musicals, the name Sambhujeet Baskota has become synonymous with Nepali movie scores. As a film music director, his career has spanned over a decade and a half and his music has featured in over 200 movies with an astounding total of 2,000 songs.

Sambhujeet proved himself a singer and composer even before entering the world of original soundtracks when he did Maya in 1990. From then on, there was no looking back. He quickly established himself as competition for (and eventually outlasted) Ranjeet Gajmer who dominated the field at the time. Today, perhaps no other name is as firmly set in Nepali music history.

It is not hard to understand why Sambhujeet maintains such popularity. The secret behind his success is versatility. Sambujeet's songs range from serious to light-hearted and over the years artists ranging from Narayan Gopal and Tara Devi to Nabin K Bhattarai and Nalina Chitrakar have sung his compositions. He has proved his genius at creating songs that appeal to the masses, often mixing all types of music to get the effect he is looking for. He prefers incorporating traditional folk melodies into his work, but fans claim that he manages to come up with something new and interesting each time.

Even so, some are critical of this mix-and-match approach. Perhaps most controversial is his use of foreign tunes in his music, which some may take as proof that his creations are not original. His reputation as a 'music machine' also provokes mixed reactions. While some admire his ability to churn out tunes (he created quite a stir when he managed to record songs for three separate movies within a week), others are sceptical of the quality of music made in such a hurry.

Despite his critics, it is obvious that Sambhujeet has firmly established himself in the Nepali music scene. He recently started singing again and is always busy with new projects. He is currently the director of the music department of the Royal Nepal Academy and has two songs nominated for the category of Best Song Originally Recorded for a Motion Picture Soundtrack in the upcoming 7th Close-up Hits FM Music Awards.