Back to his tune

KOCHI: A prolific lawyer from Kerala, who is based in Dubai and has spread his wings globally, is returning to his first love, music. Musthafa Zafeer O V,  founder of the international law firm Musthafa & Almana, brought out a solo cover song earlier this week, marking 40 years of his singing career. The album, officially released by A K Balan, minister for law & cultural affairs, through his Facebook page, is a tribute to Zafeer’s “beloved mentor” Ustad Gulam Musthafa Khan.

Zafeer remembers how a performance he did for a college function while studying at the Government Brennen College, Thalassery, in the beginning of 1980 turned him into a professional singer. His public stage performance began on April 15, 1980 and soon, he became part of the musical circuit, mostly in north Kerala. By 1990, Zafeer had staged performances across Kerala and in almost all major south Indian cities.

His first overseas performance was alongside a galaxy of south Indian filmstars  in 1987, as a performing vocalist under music director A T Ummer in the UAE. After that, Zafeer teamed up with the veteran music director and formed a troupe ‘Melody Makers’, which emerged as south India’s premier music group. 

In south India, Zafeer has worked with prominent music directors such as AT Ummer, Gangai Amaran, Kannur Rajan, and Raveendran. In Bollywood, he has worked with the likes of Sonu Nigam and Udit Narayan. “For me, the turning point was in 1992, when I had the opportunity to meet Padma Shri Ustad Gulam Musthafa Khan, who became my lifelong mentor and guide,” he says.

Zafeer, who later became busy working as a lawyer and expanding his law firm to Kochi and later to Dubai, had to sacrifice his singing career after 2000. The launch of the solo cover song album, he says is his “return to the musical world”. Though Zafeer will continue his active professional life as a lawyer, he says he will be as involved in his musical journey starting now.