Kollam-native Ajmal Hasbulla off to a great start

Kollam-native Ajmal Hasbulla has always prioritised music in his life. His hard work finally paid off after he was picked to score the BGM for ‘Vrithakrithiyilulla Chathuram’ team. The debut movie presented him with the Kerala State Film Awards for the best background music on Tuesday. Ajmal is on cloud nine ever since attributes his achievement to his ever-growing love for music.  

“I had no idea that I was competing for the award. I came to know about my win when a friend called and asked me to switch on the television,” quips Ajmal. He has been flooded with phone calls since the award declaration and the celebration is still going on. “I’ve been working in the music field for quite a while now. And this is the first recognition and that being a Kerala State award makes it so special,” adds Ajmal. 

He did his graduation in Carnatic vocals from Swathi Thirunal College of Music, Thiruvananthapuram. Later, he completed a course in sound programming from Chennai. “I got a job in Dubai after that. However, I quit soon and started doing advertisement jingles and music for short films after I returned to Kerala.” Soon, Ajmal joined music director Mejjo Joseph as a keyboard programmer, a decision that turned his life around. 

“Mejjo was really supportive. I had the chance to work with him in movies like C/O Saira Banu and Vaarikkuzhiyile Kolapathakam. After that, he worked with Sam C S who is notable for the works like Kaithi, Vikram Vedha, and Odiyan. 

“Sam and his team helped me understand more about the background score. It was while working with him, that Krishand called me for ‘Vrithakrithiyilulla Chathuram’,” adds Ajmal. He comes from a family that has quite the taste of music. Ajmal’s uncle, Kollam Naushad Babu, is a famous mappilapattu singer who has sung for the movie 1921. “He was the reason why I started taking music seriously,” says Ajmal.