Afzal Yusuf is an Indian music composer who has made his mark in the South Indian film industry with his mellifluous melodies. Being a visually challenged musician, he has given life to many songs that are familiar to all the music lovers around the world. His music compositions have earned their way onto the hit lists of various Malayalam movies which comprise ''

Calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physi ...

'', (2009), ''

Bombay March 12 ''Bombay March 12'' is a 2011 Malayalam–language Indian drama film based on the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts. The film marks the directorial debut of noted screenwriter Babu Janardhanan. Mammootty, Roma and Unni Mukundan play the lead roles. The n ...

'' (2011), ''

Immanuel Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the H ...

'' (2013), ''

God for Sale ''God for Sale: Daivam Vilppanakku'' is a 2013 Malayalam satirical drama film written and directed by Babu Janardhanan and starring Kunchacko Boban in the lead role with Jyothi Krishna, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Anumol, Tini Tom and Thilakan plays o ...

'' (2013), ''Mailanchi Monjulla Veedu'' (2014), ''Theeram'' (2017), ''Engeyum Naan Irupen'' (2017) etc. He debuted into the film industry through the Malayalam movie ''Chandranilekulla Vazhi'' which got released in 2008. Many well-known singers have lent their voices to his songs such as Dr.

K J Yesudas Kattassery Joseph Yesudas (born 10 January 1940) is an Indian playback singer and musician who sings Indian classical, devotional and film songs. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of Indian Music and also as a c ...

P Jayachandran Paliyath Jayachandrakuttan is an Indian playback singer and actor from Kerala. Jayachandran is best known for his captivating voice which gave him the title ''Bhava Gayakan'' by the music fraternity of South India. He has worked with many comp ...

Sadhana Sargam Sadhana Sargam (née Ghanekar, born 7 March 1969) is an Indian singer known for her playback career in Indian cinema predominantly in Hindi, Bengali, Telugu and Tamil language films. She is a recipient of the National Film Award and Filmfare Awa ...

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and so on. He has also contributed his share into the Tamil music industry through the movie ‘Engeyum Naan Irupen’ which is set to release soon in 2017, along with his Malayalam movie ‘Theeram’.

Career

Afzal Yusuf started his music career as a keyboard live artist which earned him the chance to work alongside several celebrated musicians, namely,

Raveendran Madhavan Raveendran ( ml, മാധവൻ രവീന്ദ്രൻ ), (born Kulathupuzha, Kollam, 9 November 1943 – died Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 3 March 2005), fondly known as ''Raveendran Master'', was a popular South Indian music composer an ...

, Berny-Ignatius,

Ouseppachan Mechery Louis Ouseppachan (born 13 September 1955), known mononymously as Ouseppachan, is an Indian film composer and singer who primarily works in Malayalam films. He is a recipient of National Film Award, Filmfare Award and Kerala State Film ...

, Bijipal etc. Though he had worked with many popular musicians, his early associations were mainly done with the music director Bijipal and those years as a keyboard programmer had given him numerous opportunities to work on various blockbusters alongside famous musicians and film makers. The major turning point in his life happened in the year 2004 through an event staged by SRVC (Society for the Rehabilitation of the Visually Challenged) at Le Meridian, Cochin as a part of one of their campaigns. The stage event was directed by the movie director

Lal Jose Lal Jose is an Indian director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Direc ...

and the title song was composed by Afzal Yusuff. As the programme was rich with many notable personalities, it unlocked a door of possibilities for him to grow as a musician in the film industry. In 2008, he debuted into the Malayalam film industry with his composition for the movie ‘Chandranilekulla Vazhi’. Afzal Yusuff has composed a number of songs for films, namely, Calendar (2009),

(2011),

(2013),

Ithu Pathiramanal ''Ithu Pathiramanal'' (English: ''Sands of Night'') is a 2013 Malayalam action film directed by M. Padmakumar starring Unni Mukundan in the lead role with Jayasurya and Ramya Nambeeshan . The shooting locations are in Marayur, Pathiramanal and A ...

(2013),

God For Sale ''God for Sale: Daivam Vilppanakku'' is a 2013 Malayalam satirical drama film written and directed by Babu Janardhanan and starring Kunchacko Boban in the lead role with Jyothi Krishna, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Anumol, Tini Tom and Thilakan plays o ...

(2013), Mailanchi Monjulla Veedu (2014), Theeram (2017), Engeyum Naan Irupen (2017) etc. Apart from composing soul-stirring melodies that make his listeners croon, he has also been credited for introducing many great singers from

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

and other industries into Mollywood. Afzal Yusuff was the one who introduced singers like

etc. into Malayalam movie industry who all rendered their debut songs under his composition. He has had the good fortune to collaborate with many famed movie makers including

, Padma Kumar etc. which earned him many laurels for his compositions across the movie industry. Afzal Yusuff is the first visually challenged Keralite who went on to become a noted music composer in Mollywood, regardless of his limitations which never stood as a hurdle before his love and passion towards music. His name had been nominated and considered for many awards and accolades which include Kerala State Special Jury mention in the year 2013 for the movies Immanuel and God For Sale, Best Music Director Award in Cera Music Awards held by 92.7 Big FM for the movies Immauel and Pathiramanal in 2013 etc. His upcoming works are ''Theeram'' and ''Engeyum Naan Irupen'' which were released in 2017.

Awards

* 2013 -

Kerala State Film Award – Special Mention The Kerala State Film Award – Special Mention is an award presented at the Kerala State Film Awards of India. Recipients See also * Kerala State Film Award – Special Jury Award The Kerala State Film Award – Special Jury Award is an ...

for Music Direction (Movies :

) * 2013- CERA BIG Malayalam Music Awards (92.7 BIG FM) - Best contribution in Music Direction (Movies : Immanuel & Pathiramanal) * 2013 - Thikkurushi Foundation Award - Popular Music Director (Movie : Immanuel)

Discography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yusuf, Afzal Living people Indian Muslims Indian male composers Malayalam film score composers Blind musicians Male film score composers Year of birth missing (living people)