First came G.V. Prakash Kumar, known initially as A.R. Rahman’s nephew, but he grew rapidly in the Tamil film industry and has firmly emerged from the shadows of his illustrious uncle.
Now, we have another Rahman newphew all set to burn up the tracks. This Valentines’ Day, E. R. Azhar Kaashif launched a single titled ‘Kannaley’.
Kaashif is Rahman’s nephew and the son of Fathima, Executive Director, KM Conservatory. Says Kaashif, “I composed the track over a year ago but felt Valentine’s Day would be an ideal time to release the love song. I visited Mumbai on some personal work last month and took the track with me. I asked Javed Ali to sing it, and the song has come out well. The lyrics were written by Mohan Raj, who worked on Anirudh’s ‘Kanave Kanave’ in David. The video features me too.”
Kaashif plays the piano and keyboard but loves to record his tracks played on the guitar. Unlike his uncle, the 19-year-old says he has just started learning to sing and prefers to stick to composing for now. “I’ve been composing songs from when I was in class nine, but I used to hide it. I was trying to find my own voice. When I began to feel confident, I told my parents and a few close friends. It was then that my mom suggested I pursue music full-time.”
Kaashif was part of a band called Staccato, which performed at the 2012 London Olympics. “I trained under my uncle for three years. I would assist him in recording and editing, and I picked up the technical aspects of composing. He has been very supportive."
In fact, all the technicians in ‘Kannaley’ are Rahman's, besides several students from KM Conservatory. This is the first Tamil music video to have been recorded in 4K resolution.
