Newly-released music video Hamdam has the best in business — composer Hesham Abdul Wahab, singer Hanan Shaah, lyricist-singer Shafi Kollam, rapper Haris Saleem and filmmaker Zakariya. Released as a Bakrid special, the peppy track has a festive soundscape as it celebrates the warmth in human relationships.

The story is about two friends, a director and a musician, played by Hanan and Hesham, respectively, who receive a phone call about the demise of Kunjoottettan, their hamdam or companian/confidant. Apparently, he was their biggest cheerleader while they were pursuing their dream. They remember with gratitude and love how Kunjoottettan stood by them and encouraged their each attempt towards attaining success.

“The story is by Zakariya ikka, who has directed the video. We have been in touch since I am working on his next movie. That was the time when I composed this song. I immediately shared it with him. He loved it a lot, and that was when we decided to make a video, with him directing it. Our initial plan was to have a plot based around the Dubai-Fujairah border. But we dropped the idea once the West Asia crisis escalated,” he says.

Hesham says that Hamdam is personal for both him and Hanan because they have their careers because they followed their passion. “We both could relate to the theme of Hamdam, and Zakariya ikka is aware of how much we love what we do. That is why he came up with this plot.”

Hesham adds that the purpose of the song is to make everyone remember and think about that person who has helped them. “Whenever I was in doubt as a composer, there were people around who encouraged me to keep working and trusted my talent. Kunjoottettan stands for all those individuals who believed in me.”

Hesham adds that he has been looking forward to working with Hanan, who shot to fame post-lock down with the covers he posted on his social media handle and later with his original tracks, the most popular one being ‘Chirapunji mazhayathu’. Malayalam cinema soon made way for him, and the popular of the lot is ‘Neeye punchiri’ in Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra.

“When he came to my studio to record for Hamdam, it was my wife [Ayshath Safa], who suggested we try his voice for my song, ‘Indra’, in my upcoming Tamil movie, Once More. In fact, he sang ‘Indra’ before I recorded him for Hamdam.”

Getting Shafi Kollam, a trending name in the Mapilappattu circuit, was purely coincidental, Hesham says. “I was at a restaurant for dinner during Ramzan where I met him. I requested if he could write for my new song and he immediately came on board,” says Hesham. Shafi has also sung in the video with Hesham and Hanan. Haris Saleem of Street Academics has rendered English rap in the track.

Hesham has returned to indie music scene after a long gap. “I had a drive while composing this song. I felt an energy I didn’t have before, something similar to the time I was composing for Hridayam. There was a fire inside me. I don’t know why and how I felt like that.”

Hamdam is the first project of Aachus Production, a production venture launched by Hesham and his wife Ayshath. “Our vision is to create meaningful stories through music. If we can evoke nostalgia in six minutes or so then that is success for us.”

Meanwhile, after making his mark in Malayalam cinema, Hesham has emerged as a name to reckon with in Telugu, starting with Vijay Devarakonda-Samantha Ruth Prabhu-starrer Kushi. His biggest hit in the language was Hi Nanna, starring Nani and Mrunal Thakur. Manamey and 8 Vasanthalu are his other projects, besides last year’s hit, The Girl Friend,with Rashmika Mandanna in the lead.

“It feels great that I have worked with some of the big names in Telugu within a short span of my career.” Hesham’s new Telugu release, Epic, featuring Anand Devarakonda is ready for release. The first song, which is trending on social media, is sung by Malayalam singer Harishankar, making it his first original song in Telugu.

He made his foray into Hindi cinema this year with the song ‘Aasman’, sung by Neeti Mohan and Jubin Nautiyal, in Do Deewane Seher Main, starring Siddhant Chathurvedi and Mrunal Thakur. “It happened after Mrunal, who acted in Hi Nanna, referred my name to the director [Ravi Udyawar]. I did a few demos for them before I got the song.”

Besides Once More in Tamil, which has Arjun Das in the lead, Hesham is looking forward to the release of his first Kannada movie, Brindavihari, in a few months.

Reflecting on his experience in other languages, Hesham observes that he has received huge respect as a musician in all languages. “That has much to do with their appreciation of Malayalam cinema and not just my talent. They look up to our cinema because of the content and I am getting a share of their love since I belong to this industry.”

Hesham adds that it is important to adapt his music to the language he is working in. “Audience and listeners differ from industry to industry, which I should keep in mind while I tune the lyrics. That is important to make the song click with the audience. So, on the whole, there is a science to it. Also, when a movie does well, the songs also automatically get recognition most of the time.”

Meanwhile, his new Malayalam project is already in the pipeline.

Hamdam is available on YouTube and various streaming platforms