Music on His Mind
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Najim Arshad, winner of Asianet’s ‘Idea Star Singer’ (2007-2008) is back in the limelight. He is to release his own music album ‘I’m Here’ shortly. The promo, released on You Tube, is already a hit. The video of the Tamil song ‘Idayanila’ has been professionally done, with excellent cinematography. Abhinand Kumar has directed it. Najim’s brother Haarith Shahzad is the music director. The song is a modern melody beautifully rendered by Najim and also tastefully enacted by him. “It has been a dream to release my own music album. We have included six songs in Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi and I hope this will ensure a wider reach.
The songs provide a lot of variety. One of them was composed by my father. I decided to bring out a novel video which can be a trend-setter for Malayalam albums,” says the 25-year-old singer. He had sung all kinds of songs - melodies, fast numbers, classical, melancholy numbers, comic songs, ghazals and what not - during the year-long ‘Star Singer’ competition to take the crown. His rendering of the Ghulam Ali ghazal ‘Tamam Umr’ drew a standing ovation from the audience and even the judges, Sharreth, MG Sreekumar and Usha Uthup. The effortless rendering of ‘Pramadavanam’, ‘Sudhamanthram’, ‘Kattile Pazhmulam’, ‘Oh Dilruba’ and similar tough numbers during the various rounds proved his class. His splendid rendering of Sonu Nigam’s semi-classical ‘Soona Soona’ won him the title.
Later he sang in a few Malayalam films like ‘Mission 90 days’, ‘Kurukshetra’, ‘Chembada’, ‘Dr Love’ and ‘Casanova’ and also in a few Tamil films. His ‘Ente Pranayathin’ (‘Chembada’), a soulfully rendered romantic number, was a hit even though the film failed to click. He has sung in some private albums too. Najim has recorded a melodious Hindi film song( ‘Sawalon Ki’) under the baton of young composer Advait Nimlekar for the forthcoming film, ‘Kaifiron Ki Namaz’. Najim is excited about this.
“By sheer chance I got this opportunity. This was a song meant for veteran singer Hariharan, but the composer liked my singing and gave me this big break.
The other singers in the film include celebrities like Javed Ali and Sukhwinder Singh.“ He did his postgraduation in music from the Swathi Thirunal Music Academy, Thiruvananthapuram, which explains the technical perfection that marks his songs. And this is backed up by abundant natural talent, versatility and a fine range. Najim is blessed with a deep, melodious voice and a gift for expression, which helps him convey the correct shades of emotion. Velvety vibrations and intricate ‘sangathis’ embellish his rendering.
He has great hope about the duet that he recently recorded for composer Vidyasagar for Lal Jose’s forthcoming film ‘Diamond Necklace’. “It is a nice number and the fact that Vidyasagar sir chose me was a stroke of luck,” says the soft-spoken singer whose endearing humility matches his immense talent. “I am thrilled by the response I got after releasing the album promo on You Tube. There were around twelve thousand hits within ten days. We will release the album next month,” Najim signs off with his trademark smile.