MUMBAI: "We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us,” said the late Former Indian President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Living by this quote is composer Afzal Yusuf who has overcome the challenge of visual impairment to become a rather successful composer in the Malayalam music industry. Picking up awards for his compositions in films like ‘Immanuel’ and ‘Pathiramana’, Yusuf has been active in the music industry since 2008.

Yusuf started his career in music as a keyboardist until he got his first break for composing in a film. “I would like to thank director/producer, Lal Jose, who instilled faith in me, and ignored the fact that I am visually disabled. He gave me my first break in form of ‘Chandranilekkoru Vazhi’. Since then, there has been no looking back,” said Yusuf.

After establishing a place in the Malayalam music industry, he now wants to pave a way in Bollywood. Yusuf revealed that he admires compositions by Vishal Shekhar, Ismail Darbar and many more. Having already worked with stalwarts like Shreya Ghoshal and Sonu Nigam, he feels that music is all about producing good sounds.

His interest in music started when he was a child as his grandfather used to play songs by Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosale. By the time he passed the ninth grade, Yusuf was sure of taking his musical interests ahead and becoming a musician. “My uncle gifted me a keyboard, which gave another boost to my musical interests,” he elaborated.

The composer is currently working on an untitled Tamil project which is directed by Benny Thomas and is produced by Asrif Perungadi.