Interview | Composer Mujeeb Majeed: I am excited about the challenges each project entails

When Taal, Subhash Ghai’s Anil Kapoor-Aishwarya Rai Bachchan musical film released in 1999, that changed the life of a 14-year boy living in Thrissur, Kerala. AR Rahman’s music captivated him so much that he was inspired to pursue music seriously. Cut to 2026 and he is one of the celebrated composers in Malayalam cinema.

Mujeeb Majeed’s filmography reads critically and commercially acclaimed movies of recent times – Kishkindha Kaandam, Rekhachithram, ekō and Kalamkaval. He has also scored the background music for the action-heavy Chatha Pacha, which marked the debut of the composer trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy in Malayalam cinema.

About Chatha Pacha, an engaging watch with well-choreographed action sequences centred around wrestling, Mujeeb says that the composers made it easy for him to work on the background score. “They are legends; their songs blended so much with the film that it was easy for me to arrive at the background music. I could even take elements from their songs to use in the score. Even though I had only one interaction with them, that too online, there was no dearth of communication since they were always in touch with Adhvaith [Adhvaith Nayar, director of the movie],” says Mujeeb. He has also composed one English song and two hip-hop tracks in the movie. “I can’t choose between composing songs or doing background score. I enjoy both.”

Composer Mujeeb Majeed
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Mujeeb started his career with short films and television before entering films. After his debut with Mandharam (2017), he worked in Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam(2021), which won national and State level recognition. The breakthrough, of course, was Kishkindha Kaandam (2024), a nuanced mystery drama that gained from Mujeeb’s music. By then he had worked on the score of one film each in Marathi and Hindi and had done music for the Malayalam web series, Perilloor Premier League.

“Sushin [Sushin Shyam] was supposed to work in Kishkindha Kaandam. But when the film got delayed, he got busy with other projects and that was when Bahul [Bahul Ramesh, writer and cinematographer], a close friend for many years, called me. I loved the narrative so much that I was stuck with it for a couple of days,” Mujeeb recalls.

It helped that he and Bahul share the same taste in music and are fans of Rahman and Hans Zimmer. Interstellar, which had the latter’s elevating music, was in fact a reference point for Kishkindha Kaandam. “We had decided on a graph for the music – it starts slow and the tempo picks up as the story progresses. Bahul and Dinjith [Dinjith Ayyathan, director] did not want the audience to walk out of the theatre with a heavy heart since the film has a dark theme. They wanted me to come up with something unexpected. The brief was to make viewers feel they have watched a sports movie! It was a bold decision that they took,” Mujeeb says.

He worked with same team in ekō (2025), which, he says, threw several challenges. “We had no clue how to go about it. It had to be fresh and the consensus was that there should be music from the first frame unlike Kishkindha Kaandam. Barring a few silences in between, there is music throughout the narrative, but in such a way that audience does not feel it. The credit goes to mixing sound engineer Vishnu Govind,” he says.

It is all about team work, he stresses. “Those who work in post production – composer, sound designer, editor etc – have to be in sync. Like, when an editor locks a musical piece at the correct spot the impact is terrific,” he says, citing an example — the scene in ekō in which the dogs push Vineeth’s character off the cliff.

Mujeeb says he is excited about the challenges each project entails and loves experimenting with genres. “Kishikindha Kaandam, a thriller, was followed by Rekhachithram, which was in the same genre. But I had to bring a different sound and the inspiration came from the film’s storytelling. Whereas in Kalamkaval, also a thriller, I went with melody. Dheeran, which came in between, was of another genre and therefore needed a different approach.”

Mammootty in Kalamkaval
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Special Arrangement

Talking about the retro-flavoured, soothing Tamil numbers in Kalamkaval, he says, “Tamil because the character [Mammootty] mostly listens to Tamil numbers. The initial plan was to buy the rights of old Tamil songs so that the audience could connect easily with such songs. But once I composed ‘Nilaa kaayum’ and decided to build the background score around that, I asked Jithin [Jithin K Jose, director of the movie] if we can make our own songs with the retro vibe and he agreed. Thankfully, we got the right voices as well.”

What is his take on the current trend when songs are not used in their entirety in films or are heard in the background or just as snippets? “That goes well with the storytelling in today’s Malayalam cinema. We prefer to keep it real, grounded and therefore give priority to the script. May be, we will go back to the old world style where the actors break into a song if at all we get bored of the current narrative style. As a musician, I have adapted to the scenario,” he explains.

Composer Mujeeb Majeed
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

At the same time he is enthused about the OST (original sound track) releasing on YouTube or streaming platforms. “It feels great that our effort is getting noticed. Earlier, this happened only with English movies. I remember the time when I tried to listen to OST, especially of Rahman. For example, Rang de Basanti.”

A hardcore Rahman fan that he is, Mujeeb recalls how he came to love the songs from Gentleman and Kaadhalan when his uncles brought home music cassettes. With little idea about how to make music, he started taking lessons in keyboard and also learnt the different software used by musicians. “Since I didn’t have a computer, I installed them on my cousin’s system and tried to work with it.” He also remembers staff of Varnam Digital in Thrissur who helped him.

Then he took what he considers “the biggest decision in life”. Moving to Chennai to study audio engineering [at SAE]. “It was there that I became part of a circle of friends, some of whom went on to become known names in cinema – Shabareesh Varma, Alphonse Puthran, Ebin Paul, Kailas Menon, Govind Vasantha etc.”

His upcoming projects include It’s a Medical Miracle, Prathama Drishtya Kuttakkar, Unmadam and Padayaathra.

Is there a wishlist? “I want to keep working with proficient artists and make good music. I hoped to work with Arijit Singh someday. But now that might remain a dream.”

And a favourite soundtrack? “Of late, I have been listening to the piece in the last scene of Kannathil Muthamittal when Nandita Das meets her daughter. I love that section,” he signs off.

Published – February 12, 2026 06:07 am IST