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

Composer Mujeeb Majeed shares his creative journey in Malayalam cinema

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 | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

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.