It was in 2002 that Yazin Nizar made his debut as a playback singer in the movie Punarjani , around the same time that he bagged the top prize of Gandharvasangeetham, a music show on Kairali TV. But that didn’t help him get more films. In fact, he had to wait for nearly 10 years to get his big break. Nevertheless, 2014 has given him reasons to be chirpy. “I sang some hit numbers in Malayalam and Tamil. Even though my career didn’t start off with a bang, I have made steady progress as a singer,” says Yazin.
These days, his song, ‘Kolusu Thenni Thenni’ from Cousins composed by M. Jayachandran [the “one crore song” that he sang with Tipu and Shreya Ghosal] is rocking the charts. Also, he is excited to have rendered the backing vocals for A. R. Rahman in Rajinikanth’s Lingaa , which is now in theatres, and the much-anticipated Vikram-starrer I . Meanwhile, his band comprising a group of friends has performed on many stages in India and abroad.
Now settled in Chennai, where he also has a flourishing career in the Tamil film industry, he was recently in the city to shoot for Music Mojo on Kappa TV and spend some time with his family in Pallimukku in Kollam district.
The 24-year-old says that he has had his share of struggles and disappointments. Post Gandharvasangeetham , though he was a member of the prize-winning team of the music show Sangeetha Mahayudham on Surya TV and title winner of a reality show on Jeevan TV, the journey has been no cake walk. “Although I recorded some songs with Sharreth sir and Shaan Rahman early in my career, they didn’t get noticed because the films didn’t do well. However, I got lucky by singing for Vidyasagar (‘Hayyo…’) in Spanish Masala . The songs in Thattathin Marayathu (‘Pranante naalangal’) and Ozhimuri (‘Vaakkinullile…’) came as a big bonus,” he says.
Later, he got a break in Tamil, thanks to his decision to move to Chennai to study for a management degree and pursue a career in music as well. His debut song, ‘Avatha Payya…’ from Paradesi, composed by G.V. Prakash Kumar, was a hit and he started getting more songs in Tamil. In the meantime, he got to sing in Telugu and Kannada as well.
“If there is a flood of singers in Malayalam, there are even more of them in Tamil. There must be some 25,000 registered singers in Chennai. What really makes me happy is that, be it in Malayalam or Tamil, I have worked with some of the best composers. The important fact is that my voice has never been stereotyped. I have sung songs of different genres and styles,” he says.
He credits his father, Nizar A., for his inclination to music. “More than my studies, my father took an interest in my singing career. He is a great music lover and a huge Mohammed Rafi fan. In fact, whenever we had power cuts, my father and I listen to Rafi songs on our battery-run tape recorder and sing along,” says Yazin, who has learnt Carnatic music.
With his good looks complementing his rich voice, he should be getting acting offers as well, right? “Oh…yes. I sang as well as acted in the Hindi song, ‘Zindagi…’ in Angry Babies in Love . But right now my focus is on singing. I want to sustain the good run and don’t want my career to fizzle out,” he signs off.
Short notes
Yazin has worked with composers Sharreth (Nalla Pattukare) , Ouseppachan (Musafir) , Deepak Dev (101 Weddings) , Vidyasagar (Spanish Masala, Bhaiyya Bhaiyya) , Bijibal ( Ozhimuri, Vikramadithyan, Angry Babies in Love) , Shaan Rahman (Thattathin Marayathu, Praise the Lord) , M. Jayachandran (Cousins) , G. V. Prakash Kumar (Paradesi) , Yuvan Sankar Raja (Poojai) , Ghibran (Amarakavyam, Thirumanam Enum Nikah) and others.
