Hesham Abdul Wahab


Sayyed Hesham Abdul Wahab is an Indian music composer, music producer and singer who predominantly works in Malayalam and Telugu cinema. He is best known for the compositions of Qadham Badha, Hridayam, Kushi and Hi Nanna. He is the recipient of a Kerala State Film Award, SIIMA Award, and IIFA Award for music direction.

Early life

Sayyed Hesham Abdul Wahab was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, into a family of musicians. His mother tongue is Malayalam, and his family originates from Alappuzha. He developed an interest in music at a young age and received professional training in Carnatic and Hindustani classical music. He began singing at the age of 8 and was introduced to the piano when at 11.
After completing his schooling at the International Indian School in Riyadh, Wahab earned a diploma in audio engineering and a Bachelor of Arts degree in audio production from SAE Institute, graduating with top honors.
Wahab married Ayshath Safa on 22 January 2018.

Career

Early career

Hesham left Saudi Arabia to go to India in 2007 to be part of the music reality show Idea Star Singer which paved the way for his foray into playback singing and later composing.

Recording career

Wahab's first recording project was in 2013 with his first single Meri Dua produced by Offline Creations. He got his first major break when Andante Records signed him for their record label. His first album Qadam Badha, an amalgamation of Sufi music and World Music produced by eminent Iran born British singer-songwriter Sami Yusuf was released in 2015.

Music composing

Wahab forayed into Malayalam film industry as a music director in 2013, with the film Salt Mango Tree. His debut as a music composer for the Bollywood film Mera India is set to release in 2019. He has also worked with several noted composers and lent his voice to many Indian films. In 2018, his song Jaana Meri Janaa from the film Cappuccino fetched Vineeth Sreenivasan his second SIIMA Award for the Best Playback Singer in Malayalam.
In 2018, Wahab founded LIVEwithMUSIC, an independent music academy where he takes classes on sound production. Hesham arranged and mixed filmmaker Alphonse Puthren's debut composition Kathakal Chollidaam which was released as a music video featuring several Malayalam film actors and their children. He composed the soundtrack of Vineeth Sreenivasan's film Hridayam, which consists of 15 songs. He has since composed music for other Malayalam films, including Madhura Manohara Moham, and Sesham Mike-il Fathima.
Wahab made his Telugu composing debut with the romantic comedy Kushi and went on to compose music for the Telugu romance films Hi Nanna and Manamey.
In 2025, Wahab created the musical score for Kerala Crime Files: Season 2, the sequel to the popular Malayalam TV series. His work on the series was well received by critics and audiences alike. Sajin Shrijith of The Week wrote that "Hesham Abdul Wahab's music evokes the necessary emotions in the right places without trying to force them out of us". He also composed the soundtrack for the Malayalam film Samshayam directed by Rajesh Ravi. The same year, it was announced that he would make his Kannada cinema composing debut for an untitled film directed by Srinivas Raju and starring Ganesh.
In 2026, Wahab made his Hindi film debut with the romantic drama Do Deewane Seher Mein, for which he composed the song "Aasma Aasma".

Discography

TV series

Studio albums

  • ''Qadam Badha''

Music videos

Awards and nominations