A Musical World

MAKING WORLD A MORE MELODIOUS PLACE

- RAJESHWARI KALYANAM

The film was Hridayam, which released in 2022 - a love story filmed in Malayalam that caught the imagination not just audiences in Kerala, but became an anthem for the entire country that discovered the magic of Malayalam films through the OTT. The song Darshana continues to haunt the hearts of music lovers. The film has 15 songs composed by singer and music director Hesham Abdul Wahab, which sum up the many musical influences and training in the Western and classical Hindustani and Carnatic music he has had.

Darshana with its western notes, Nagumomu - a Thyagaraya Kriti that gets a Wahab treatment to give it an endearing new-age vibe, the peppy Pottu Thottu, which too has distinct classical undertones, and Onakka Munthiri that is distinctly keralam - each song is a revelation making it a timeless classic in the young music director's repertoire. Hesham grew up in Saudi, was surrounded by music from a young age, learned music, attended music college, worked with musicians from across the world, and came down to India where he began to work for films.

Along the way, he has not just created a distinct space for himself, he has also worked around his own style of working with the filmmakers, where he makes them part of his music-making and works with the director and the lyricist closely in order to make films that are now proudly proclaiming Hesham Abdul Wahab musicals.