Srinagar 17 Aug: In the early morning of Baramulla, before the sun had climbed over the Pir Panjal, Nayeem Mir opened the window of his bedroom. Outside, the streets were still, the air cool, and silence hung in the air like a companion, lingered in his mind like a distant memory.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThis,\u201d he says, gesturing toward the water, \u201cis where I learned everything about life, the pain, the beauty, the silence. And it\u2019s the same place I\u2019m trying to heal, one story at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s an ambitious mission for a 24-year-old from a small village dardpora in north Kashmir\u2019s Baramulla district. But then again, nothing about Nayeem\u2019s journey has been small.<\/p>\n
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The Back-Bencher with Big Dreams<\/p>\n
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Growing up in a modest household, Nayeem never imagined himself a public figure. \u201cI was always the quiet back-bencher. Depression, anxiety, bullying they were just\u2026 part of my school life,\u201d he says, his voice steady but his eyes betraying old wounds.<\/p>\n
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At just 13, he found an outlet in writing Urdu poetry under the pen name Afnaan. His diary bore a title that seemed to sum up his adolescence: Mein Tanha (\u201cI Am Alone\u201d).<\/p>\n
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\u201cI would write for hours. It was the only place where I could be completely honest,\u201d he recalls. But he also felt confined. \u201cOne day, I told a friend this place will kill my dreams. I wanted something bigger. I wanted to see myself in a different world.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He chuckles when he admits that the first piece he ever published wasn\u2019t a poem or a short film, but a hand-written note slipped under his cousin\u2019s door, asking if she liked the song he had recorded. \u201cIt was awkward,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I guess I\u2019ve always needed feedback to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n
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From Rap Beats to Film Frames<\/p>\n
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In 2019, he experimented with rap music, uploading his first song to YouTube under the name Axstar. \u201cPeople laughed. Friends mocked me. I didn\u2019t care, I just had a broken phone and a dream.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The real turning point came in 2020, when he enrolled in a Multimedia and Mass Communication programme. His early projects soon caught attention.<\/p>\n
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His short film Schizophrenia \u2013 The Misunderstood, tackling mental health stigma, won first place at Sarhad\u2019s 1st J&K International Film Festival. \u201cThat film wasn\u2019t just for the audience; it was for the 13-year-old me who needed someone to say mental illness is real and it matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Next came When It\u2019s Too Late Kashmir\u2019s first post-apocalyptic short film, shot in public locations with special permissions. \u201cWe wanted to prove we could tell world-class stories right here, without leaving home.\u201d<\/p>\n
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By 2023, Nayeem had invested all his savings about \u20b920,000 into a new project, Come Home. Around the same time, he was also working on a documentary about child labor in Kashmir. It was during this phase that he met Anzar Bashir, who would go on to become his closest collaborator. \u201cWe just clicked,\u201d Nayeem recalls. \u201cSame vision, same hunger.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Laptop Crash That Broke Him<\/p>\n
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\u201cOne morning, my laptop just wouldn\u2019t start. Three years of my life gone in seconds,\u201d he says. He tried everything: local technicians, online forums, even dubious offers from strangers. \u201cI got scammed in the process. It felt like my entire journey had burned to ashes again.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He credits Anzar with pulling him back from despair. \u201c\u2018Bro, let\u2019s begin again. Nothing\u2019s broken yet,\u2019 he told me. That one sentence it saved me.\u201d<\/p>\n
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At this point in our conversation, he pulls out his phone to show me a photograph not of the crashed laptop, but of an old sketchbook filled with charcoal drawings. \u201cNot many people know this,\u201d he says, \u201cbut before cameras and poetry, I used to draw. That\u2019s how I first learned to tell stories with shapes and shadows.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Life\u2019s Next Curveball<\/p>\n
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Just as he was regaining momentum, another blow came his grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. \u201cWork didn\u2019t matter then. Family came first,\u201d he says. Months were spent in hospital corridors, balancing caregiving with scraps of creative work.<\/p>\n
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Somewhere in those long nights, he discovered another habit: reading travel blogs. \u201cI\u2019ve never been outside Kashmir,\u201d he admits, \u201cbut I\u2019ve visited a hundred cities in my head. Someday, I\u2019ll film in Istanbul, and I\u2019ll walk the streets I\u2019ve read about.\u201d<\/p>\n
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By mid-2024, with his grandmother stable, he and Anzar returned to work freelancing weddings, ads, and small video projects until they had saved enough to buy their first camera. \u201cNo studio, just my tiny bedroom,\u201d Nayeem says with a smile. \u201cBut we had the fire.<\/p>\n
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The Instagram Leap<\/p>\n
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On 15 February 2025, they posted their first Instagram reel. \u201cA month later, Ramadan came. We decided 30 reels in 30 days. It was exhausting\u2026 but life-changing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The audience responded instantly. They hit 10,000 followers in the first month, and on August 11, their page had grown to 74,000 followers.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe numbers weren\u2019t the point,\u201d Nayeem says. \u201cThe messages were people saying our videos gave them hope to keep living. That\u2019s when you realise this is not content, it\u2019s connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Some of those messages came from people in villages Nayeem had never visited but one, he says, came from someone in his own school. \u201cThey said they remembered me as the boy who never spoke in class. And now I\u2019m the one speaking to thousands. Life\u2019s funny like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Three Series, One Purpose<\/p>\n
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Their Instagram presence is now anchored by three signature series:<\/p>\n
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Rooh \u2013 \u201cFor the ones who feel invisible.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Aayina \u2013 \u201cTo hold a mirror to society\u2019s problems.\u201d<\/p>\n
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K-Town Tales \u2013 \u201cA first-of-its-kind journey into Kashmir\u2019s untold stories.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Each series combines cinematic visuals with storytelling that blends local culture, personal emotion, and social reflection.<\/p>\n
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What\u2019s striking is how often Nayeem weaves in details from his own life a real shop sign from his neighbourhood, a childhood game played in the alleys of Dardapora, even the smell of kangri charcoal on winter mornings. \u201cIf I can\u2019t make you feel Kashmir, I haven\u2019t done my job,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
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Beyond the Screen<\/p>\n
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Nayeem\u2019s work has made him more than a filmmaker it\u2019s made him a lifeline for strangers. \u201cI\u2019ve had people tell me our videos stopped them from ending their life. You don\u2019t forget that,\u201d he says, his voice softening.<\/p>\n
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And though few know it, he has his own ritual before filming: he listens to an old Kashmiri lullaby his grandmother used to sing.\u201cIt reminds me why I tell stories to protect memories before they vanish.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cMy aim is to ensure Kashmir is remembered globally for its beauty, remarkable people, cultural legacy, rich heritage, and incredible stories. As an artist, I always try to encourage positive change in society, evolve the mentality of people, and build hope for a bright future,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n
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For him, the ultimate goal is to change how Kashmir is seen both from within and from the outside. \u201cI want the world to remember Kashmir for its beauty, its culture, its people. Not just the headlines.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Will to Begin Again<\/p>\n
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Looking out toward the distant Jhelum, Nayeem reflects on the arc of his journey from a lonely teenager filling a diary in Urdu verse, to a YouTube rapper, to an award-winning filmmaker with a fast-growing digital audience.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFrom a burned diary to a broken laptop to reaching millions the journey\u2019s been rough,\u201d he says. \u201cBut I\u2019ve learned one thing: Life can erase your work, but it can\u2019t erase your will to start again.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Beside him, Anzar grins. \u201cAnd maybe it can\u2019t erase two stubborn dreamers either.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cMy content refreshes the memories of those who left Kashmir years ago, and even people from the valley tell me they have learned something new about their own homeland,\u201d he shares with a quiet smile.<\/p>\n
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For Nayeem, these messages are the true measure of success proof that his stories are not just being watched, but are touching lives, reviving connections, and keeping the soul of Kashmir alive.<\/p>\n
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And that is the real message: no matter how much loneliness, loss, or broken beginnings you face, you still carry the power to create light for others. Your story, your voice, your art whatever form it takes can touch lives, revive connections, and bring hope where it\u2019s needed most. If Nayeem\u2019s journey proves anything, it\u2019s this: you are never too small, too broken, or too late to begin again and in choosing to rise, you may become the voice of hope someone else is waiting for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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