KOCHI: The long months of lockdown and isolation during the pandemic were, no doubt, chaotic. However, for some, it offered a much-needed reprieve to unwind and explore their creative talents.
Faced with an abundance of free time, Kochi-based Haniya Nafisa, then a Class 11 student, began tinkering with music, an activity she hadn’t given much thought to until then.
“I don’t have a music background, but I enjoy the process of making songs. Soon, it became an everyday activity. As social interactions were stifled by Covid curbs, music offered a personal space, an avenue to feel,” Haniya tells TNIE.
Haniya’s efforts were instantly rewarded. Her tracks went viral, especially on Instagram. That catapulted her into the limelight.
“My short music clips started garnering thousands of views. I posted more work and also upgraded my equipment in order to record songs professionally,” Haniya says.
To make this revamp more apparent, she also deleted old clips. Ironically, what she posted afterwards were even more rudimentary. “They were short clips of me practising songs in my room. I learned quickly enough what the audience wanted,” says the 20-year-old.
Among the many such tracks were also gems — her cover of the hit song Luka Chuppi from the film Rang De Basanti. Released in August 2020, it was her first big track after the revamp and an instant internet sensation.
“My page exploded. I am told the song is still doing rounds on social media. It’s incredible,”she says.
To date, the track has garnered nearly 6 million views on YouTube. Recently, the social media giant also featured the song in a post to showcase the possibilities open to its content creators.
Subsequently, two interesting opportunities presented themselves to Haniya. In 2021, Govind Vasantha, one of the founding members of the band Thaikkudam Bridge and now a music composer, approached her asking if she could join as a playback singer for the movie Adi (2023). Haniya sang Thone Mohangal in the film.
Not long later, music director Gopi Sundar approached her to sing Ye Zindagi in the 2021 Telugu romcom Most Eligible Bachelor.
“I went to Hyderabad to record this. It was such a stellar experience. Both these experiences made me determined to pursue a career in music,” says Haniya, who is also a model and budding actor.
What was left for Haniya was to release her own song. Last Friday, this too materialised when Mulchedi, arranged by Govind, was released.
“It’s my first Malayalam track. I wrote it five years ago, when I was in Class 11,” says Haniya. The first time she sang it was live on Instagram. Though it was received well, the youngster couldn’t proceed further. “I wrote that during a difficult time, and wasn’t planning to release it anyways,” she adds.
However, buoyed by the online support, she reached out to Govind a year ago. “He immediately agreed, and suggested that we keep the track very minimal so as to give the lyrics more focus,” Haniya recalls. “He’s a natural when it comes to melancholy tracks, and Mulchedi was certainly an emotional song.”
The response to the song, which fellow artists have hailed as ‘raw and honest’, hints at a new artist arriving in Kerala’s vibrant music sphere.
Now, with a slew of singles, a movie, a film composition work, and a music tour in the cards, 2024 is shaping up to be Haniya’s breakout year.