Er-turned-executive producer Tahir aims to take the local film industry to new heights

An engineer by training, Tahir Hussain from Srinagar has always dreamed of becoming a filmmaker. After completing his B.Tech in 2012, he felt the lure of filmmaking and that’s how his journey from engineer to executive producer began.

“I have always been interested in cinema. Seeing people perform on set, the images and the lighting left a lasting impression on my mind,” Tahir told Rising Kashmir.

The passion for working in films drove him until he made his first project with a production company based in Kashmir.

“In 2017, I started my career as an assistant director and production coordinator at Renzu Films. It was a multitasking project,” he said.

“In 2019, I worked on Kashmiri singer Yawar Abdal’s music video ‘Yumbarzaloo'”.

” It went very well. The Danish Renzu, the owner of Renzu Films, liked my work and after that I continued to do some projects with them.

Later, he was hired as an executive producer by the production company with which he worked on a few projects.

Besides working with local artists, Tahir has also worked with traditional Bollywood actors.

“I have worked with some of the Bollywood actors like Soni Razdan, Paras Chabra, Mahira Sharma, Kanika Mann and many more. Besides, I have also worked with local Kashmir singers and actors like Irfan Bhukari, Noor Mohammad, Yawar Abdal and many others,” recalls Tahir.

The executive producer feels lucky to have worked with so many talented people and believes that their love for them has created new opportunities for Valley talent.

“I have had a very good experience so far working with good talented people in Bollywood. Their love for Kashmir has opened doors for filmmakers here. More and more filmmakers are now coming to Kashmir to shoot their movies,” he added.

He said local youngsters have immense talent which, if honed, can prove a boon to the local film industry.

Tahir Hussain has been a part of some stunningly beautiful feature films and music videos which have contributed to the tourism of Jammu and Kashmir.

Talking about the challenges he has faced in this area, he said, “The challenges that I have faced as an executive producer are budgeting and in regards to making films. I have to do the budget, having no freedom to exceed it, so I have to execute all the things which are very difficult.

“Secondly, as we know, Kashmir is a difficult place to photograph. In terms of exposure, you have to see things during filming. There should be no problem, we have to manage people and check things in terms of security. This is a primary challenge,” he said.

Tahir said, “A number of budding filmmakers are emerging in this field. I believe that soon after the release of the Kashmir film policy, the Kashmir film industry has the potential to be on par with that of Punjabi and Bhojpuri cinema,” he said.

“The Kashmiri youth have a lot of talent in all areas, be it in costume, make-up, directing or producing.”

Talking about his future projects, he said, “I would like to continue doing projects of various kinds.”

“Currently, I am working on two feature films based on a true story and we (Renzu Films) aim to complete it this year.”

My goal is to provide more opportunities for local young people in this field.