In its first weekend, Saiyaara, directed by Mohit Suri, earned more than ₹100 crore worldwide. Without a doubt, the romantic drama is a crowd favorite. The film's music is one of its unique selling points, notably its title track, which has become a chart hit. Saiyara has a new vocal by Faheem Abdullah, but the majority of the movie's songs were written by Tanishk Bagchi and performed by Vishal Mishra. Faheem and his longtime partner, Arslan Nizami, wrote the song.

The fact that these two Kashmiri artists, who lacked any industry connections, wrote the title tune for a Yash Raj Films project is a fascinating tale.

Who are Arslan Nizami and Faheem Abdullah?

Arslan Nizami was employed as a civil engineer close to Leh and moonlighted as a composer and songwriter. Faheem, who previously went by the name The Imaginary Poet, would join him in his work before he dropped his stage name earlier this year. The majority of the world was ignorant of their music, while it enjoyed significant appeal in Kashmir. "I used to compose and write songs all the time. One day, I told Faheem (his colleague), "Hamara music baahar pahunch nahi raha hai," which means that our music is not going out. Arslan informs us that someone must get out there and carry out that task.

"I quit my job that same day and told Faheem, 'Let's do it.' I really wanted to give our music a chance," he continues. "It was tough to explain this to my parents. They are Kashmiri parents who value stability and a decent career."

Faheem and Arslan combined their funds and traveled to Mumbai to seek out mainstream songwriters and producers. "We realized that we had enough money for 14 days in Mumbai. So we gave themselves those 14 days in the city," Faheem remembers. They met Tanishk Bagchi, the composer, on the 13th day of their trip to Mumbai, and they were immediately signed up to write the title song for Saiyaara.

On the reception to Saiyaara

"To be able to produce music itself is a privilege," Faheem adds when describing the 'pinch-me' moment they've had since the song's amazing reception. We never imagined making music for a movie. We didn't give it any thought until we got that phone.

The pair now hopes that their accomplishment may open doors for other Kashmiri musicians to break into the mainstream. Faheem claims that "Kashmir is a very undiscovered place when it comes to music in our nation. It has enormous potential when it comes to talent," and that all people require is a platform like theirs.

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