Naaz Sultana an acclaimed singer of our state has been the flavour of local news after her debut performance (as an actor) in the recently released Assamese feature film Guwahati Diaries. "I have composed, written and sung the song 'Mon boi jai' too for the movie and hence the movie is significant to me in more ways than one," she shares.
Talking about the start of her professional journey, Naaz Sultana says, "During my first year of graduation I started singing with a gospel band in a Christian NGO called 'Coffee House'. I founded the band White Beryl in the year 2009 along with my friend Vishal Chandra from Delhi .We were the only female fronted band selected for the Channel V launchpad prelims (in Delhi) in 2011. I was also the winner of Barista Acoustic Jam 2011 held in Delhi. In between I even did 'voice overs' for radio stations in Delhi and Guwahati. I eventually shifted to Guwahati in 2012 and since then have been performing here as a solo artist."
Naaz Sultana is a self-taught musician. "This journey of almost 17 years (until now) has been meaningful and beautiful. My music is experimental and I have no fixed genre. I perform western as well as Bollywood numbers. I improvise old Bollywood retro numbers with a western flavour and this style has received an overwhelming response from my audiences. They even termed it as my 'Signature style'. I dream to take Assamese rock to an international platform one day," she says.
Naaz has performed for companies like Seagrams, United Spirits, Reliance, Honda, NRL,OIL India Limited, Larsen &Turbo and many more. "I have done festivals like Falcon Festival, Brahmaputra Film Festival, All India Art Festival, Metropolis and many more," she informs.
Incidentally Naaz Sultana has performed at Rongali Festival 2019, which has been one of the biggest festivals of Assam. "I was blessed to have shared the same stage with the stalwarts like Papon and Zublee. Moreover, she has also judged various singing competitions in the city. "I have judged the Inter-school singing competition held by The National Public School, Guwahati consecutively for three years," she tells Saturday Fare.
Talking about some highlights of her career, Naaz says, "I released my fifth song 'Junaki Porua' in collaboration with the movie Fireflies- an Assamese feature film directed by Prakash Deka. Incidentally this is the first transgender movie of Assam. The lead actor bagged the best lead role in the South Asia film festival - Kashish, which is incidentally the fifth biggest queer film festival in the world."
She continues, "In the beginning of 2021 I released a rock song 'Aaina' that reiterates the importance of independent life choices (that are not influenced by a toxic society). Aaina is also one of the first Assamese rock songs to be featured in the online platform of 'Rolling Stones India', which is considered to be the biggest music magazine of India (and even across the world). In December 2021, I released my single 'Duur'. Rock Street Journal also known as RSJ, a renowned music journal of India featured and covered my work on 5th January this year."
Talking about her childhood, family background and people who inspired and mentored her, Naaz shares, " I was born in Bihpuria, Lakhimpur. Owing to my father's transferable job I spent my childhood days in a hostel. I was in class two when I first moved to hostel. So it won't be wrong if I say I actually grew up in Shillong. Later I shifted to Miles Bronson Residential and eventually to Jagiroad Kendriya Vidyalaya from where I gave my boards. Since I come from a middle class family I was told that scoring good grades and ultimately securing a government job should be my singular aim. However, when I pursued my graduation from Delhi University I realised that music was the purpose of my life. There was a Christian NGO near my PG. Every Thursday I would visit them and immensely enjoyed the gospels they sang. I started to be a regular and later joined them for the gospels. I sang and learnt a lot and started developing a deep connection with music."
Naaz goes on to share that she saved money and bought a guitar. "I started composing songs and learning guitar chords from the internet. In the meantime I had completed my graduation and was also practising and composing with my band 'White Beryl'. During this phase a serious family issue arose and I had to get a job to pay my bills. Actually I was pursing my CS too at that time but had to quit because of a pressing financial crisis. I started working for Jet Airways. It was a wonderful experience but somehow I was depressed as I was losing touch with music. My parents had separated and I had to support my mother. Eventually I decided to leave my job and come back home (to Guwahati) to support my mother and ofcourse pursue music too. I disappointed my family and relatives because they were against my decision to pursue music. My mother too was apprehensive as she thought music will not help me earn."
However, as is obvious Naaz Sultana persisted against all odds. "I believed strongly in myself and what I wanted to do. I wanted to live my passion. By God's grace over the years I have been doing my work and people have shown tremendous love and support towards my work. Therefore I feel very blessed. Today my mother is very proud of me."
Naaz goes on to say that she lost her father this year; on 30th March 2022 to be precise. "I miss him a lot. I loved my father a lot. I know that deep down even he accepted my love for music over the years when he was alive," she quietly adds.
After a long pause, Naaz Sultana resumes, "I have learnt that if you want something with all your heart, no one can stop you from having it. Your dedication and your determination matters the most. Also I never had any mentor. I mentored myself over the years. I never even had a chance to join music classes. The journey of my life has mentored me."
Surely Naaz Sultana is an inspiration to many. So what or who inspires her?
"Sir Adil Hussain has been my biggest inspiration. When I performed for him he came up on the stage and recited a piece from the Othello as a token of appreciation for me which brought tears to my eyes. His humility has touched me," she states.
Talking about her professional goals she concludes, "My professional goal is to connect to people who would find solace in my work or some strength through my songs. I am a singer, songwriter and composer. As a songwriter I try to talk about the dark aspects of life which people generally don't talk about. I try to address anxiety, depression, social issues, individual and personal issues through my songs hoping that some people can connect to my messages and find hope. Everyone's life matters. I think music is my medium of expression through which I can try connecting to people in a better way. And in the next five years I want to see myself writing more and connecting more. I want to see myself travelling a lot too. I want to see myself smile and say - I did it."
Also Watch: