Faiz Mustafa: I am following in my grandfather’s footsteps

When your grandfather is a legend like Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, treading the career path as a musician isn’t easy. But singer Faiz Mustafa sees it as his strength. The late legend’s grandson says his family lineage has played “a very important role” in his life. “Hailing from a family where the day starts and ends with music has helped me grow as an artiste. My grandfather used to say that music is a universal language and it has no barriers. I am just following in his footsteps and his teachings have definitely

provided an impetus to my career,” says Faiz.

The debate around nepotism has been big in India for a while. Ask the musician, who has songs like Rehnuma (Heropanti 2; 2022), and this year’s releases Mirza

(Maidaan) and Istighfar

(Aadujeevitham) to his credit, if he has ever been treated differently, given his family’s musical legacy, and Faiz says, “You need to be talented, as only talent does the talking in our field. It’s all about proving yourself, because your family name cannot further your career. You need to learn and be a good musician if you want to make a mark. Thankfully, I have always received a lot of love for my work.”

He adds, “Of course, the training that I received from my grandfather and father (singer Murtuza Mustafa) has helped me as an artiste. My grandpa always taught us to be students of music, and that helps me stay grounded and focused.”

Faiz’s discography features a mix of film and non-film songs. Ask if Bollywood music interests him, and he says, “It’s every singer’s dream to have at least one song in a Bollywood movie. I feel blessed to have made my Bollywood playback debut with

Rehnuma, which was composed by (music director and student of Ustad Khan) AR Rahman uncle.”