There is no escaping competition in any field and it is nowhere more apparent than the glamour industry. Every day a number of wannabe actors, singers and technicians wait in the wings with bated breath for that elusive opening to showcase their skill. While some lucky ones make it a large number do not. Rafeeq Rehman has been in the field of singing for the past 13 years and like everyone else, the big screen is his dream but he is aware of the long line of budding singers emerging every day and so has found different avenues to showcase his talent. Popular for his stage shows and albums, Rafeeq has recently sung for the film Puthiya Niyamam in addition to films like Chembada and Muzafir.
Rafeeq learnt classical singing from an early age and made his mark during his college days, singing in youth festivals and also branched out to professional singing in stage shows. He continues to be very active in stage shows even now and that is his mainstay. He says, “I have travelled abroad for various stage shows and sung along with singers like G Venugopal, Rimi Tomi and Renjini Jose.” Talking about live singing, he says, “I get a lot of personal satisfaction from stage shows because the appreciation is immediate. In films a recording may need a lot of takes and retakes and because of the huge number of singers your voice may not even be recognised. But there is one big factor in favour of cinema — a hit song gives you immediate recall!”
Along with two other singers Pradeep Babu and Yasir Ashraf, Rafeeq has also been making albums. He initially did one on the Mullaperiyar dam issue and then went on to do the next one ‘Mutta Surrka’ based on the names of Malabari dishes. He says, “There are no lines in this song. The three of us went to a Malabar restaurant, looked at the menu and wrote the song. It is composed entirely of Malabar delicacies. This was a big hit in the Gulf and Malabar area.” The third album was based on the mosquito menace titled as ‘Kothuku’. Rafeeq says, “We like to take social issues as the background for our albums as it reaches people faster. In fact our upcoming album will also be based on a social issue.” In addition to singing, the musician’s cricket team Cochin Music Challengers is keeping him engaged with various matches.
