Haniya Nafisa on her journey from singing covers to becoming an indie musician

It was during the lockdown that Haniya Nafisa broke into the music scene. The covers she uploaded on her social media handles won her a legion of fans. After a short break from social media, Haniya forayed into the independent music scene and has released three originals this year, the latest among them being an English track, ‘When life gives you lemons’.

“It was a song meant for a friend’s short film. I recorded it along with the background score. I was encouraged to release it separately. Initially, we made a lyric video with some artwork. There was no plan to bring it out as a music video,” says Haniya, over the phone from Kochi.

Haniya Nafisa in her music video, ‘When life gives you lemons’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“It is about living a monotonous life,” says Haniya, who features as a waitress in the video. She adds, “It was an attempt at something new. The acceptance for English songs is picking up in Kerala, so it was a risk that we took. I have experimented with the vocal texture by bringing in a retro vibe.”

The tonal quality of her voice, the cinematography, the orchestration and the vibe of the video have come in for praise. Produced by Haniya and her friend, Aslam Seju, the cinematographer of the video, under their banner Neue Films, it is directed by Arshed Iqbal.

The work also features rapper MHR and digital creator and musician Salman Koroth. “We didn’t expect so much love for an English song. There has been positive feedback from within the music industry as well. We have got offers to create more songs and hopefully it will happen soon,” she adds.

Singer-composer Haniya Nafisa
| Photo Credit:
Aslam Seju

The artiste stresses that making a music video is no cake walk. “It requires a huge investment. But it helped that all the artistes and technicians in the video are our friends. There was a mutual trust and that’s why the video happened.”

Looking back at her journey, Haniya, 21, talks about her transformation from being one in the crowd to a solo artiste. “In school, co-curricular activities interested me more than studies. But I preferred to work or perform as part of a group and never had the confidence to take an initiative to do something on my own. However, that changed during the lockdown. The only thing I could do then from the comfort of my home was singing,” Haniya says.

That was the turning point for the self-taught musician who endeared herself to music lovers with her soothing voice and playing either the ukulele or the guitar. “When people started coming up to me, I felt that I needed to be more confident. Once the scene shifted to offline, especially during shows in colleges, I realised how much people have accepted me as a musician,” says Haniya.

Haniya Nafisa in her music video, ‘When life gives you lemons’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

She entered the indie music scene with her original track, ‘Mulchedi’, featuring composer-singer Govind Vasantha. “That song was written and composed more than five years ago when I was going through a traumatic phase in my life. When I got out of that phase that I felt that I should release it,” she says.

She had worked with Govind in the film Adi and the music video Thonnal featuring Ahaana Krishna. “He is more like a mentor. I had already made him listen to ‘Mulchedi’ long back. And when I asked him if I could collaborate with him, he agreed.”

Although her first playback recording was for Adi, her first film song to be released was ‘Zindagi’ composed by Gopi Sunder for the Telugu movie, Most Eligible Bachelor.

Her second original work, ‘U Good’ was with indie artist 6091 (Gopikrishnan) and Krameri (Damini Chauhan). “Initially I wondered if people would appreciate the music I made. But that was what I wanted to do and so I didn’t think much about it. I understood that if I keep on worrying about listeners’ response I might lose my interest. That’s when I decided to make the kind of music that I love to do.”

Singer-composer Haniya Nafisa
| Photo Credit:
Aslam Seju

And her joy knew no bounds when AR Rahman posted the comment ‘Lovely’ with an emoji on Instagram for the ‘Mulchedi’ track. Indeed an overwhelming moment for Haniya who had started her YouTube journey with the cover version of Rahman’s song ‘Lukka Chuppi’ from Rang De Basanti, which went viral clocking over 6.1 million views.

Haniya made her debut as an actor in the Tamil film, Connect in which she acted with Nayanthara and Anupam Kher. She played a pivotal role in Ranjan Pramod’s O.Baby and was the protagonist in Apple Chedikal, screened at the International Film Festival of Kerala 2023.

Currently pursuing a diploma in architecture and interior designing, Haniya says that a few interesting collaborations are coming up.