Kashmiri Filmmaker Danish Renzu Traces a Journey of Roots For ‘Ae Savere’ Music Video

Bringing in veteran names and a big label, filmmaker Danish Renzu’s new music video “Ae Savere” – composed and sung by Archana Kamath Hegdekar and Shankar Mahadevan – shines a light on the complicated feelings a Kashmiri Pandit experiences when she visits her hometown.

Renzu, who was previously based in Los Angeles and returned to Srinagar following the pandemic, notches up a release via Zee Music Company for a new Kashmiri/Hindi song. He says in a statement about the video, “It is the untold tale of a Kashmiri Pandit woman connecting to her roots on visiting Kashmir after 30 years. The music video/short story touches upon the impact of one losing their home and the longing that follows. It’s a human story with a universal theme of hope and new beginnings.”

Actors Soni Razdan and Taha Shah Badussha portray the roles of a mother and son respectively as they return to their hometown to immerse the ashes of the latter’s father. Roaming the lanes of Srinagar and finding her childhood home, Razdan’s character grows nostalgic but also grieves for her lost home, eventually finding the closure she sought. Razdan says, “I have never shot such an emotional journey in my life… it truly was a first in so many ways. And as I shot for it and it revealed itself to me I got more and more drawn into the situation till it almost felt like my own.”

The lilting, cinematic song features lyrics by Sunayana Kachroo, who says in the process of writing “Ae Savere,” she found traces of her own life and reconnected with Kashmir. Hegdekar, for her part, has her first outing as a composer, aided by the distinctively powerful vocals of Mahadevan. The prolific singer has previously interpreted Kashmiri lyrics – with songs like “Rind Posh Maal” and “Bumbro” from the 2000 film Mission Kashmir – but “Ae Savere” was different for him. He adds, “I hope that I sung it properly, in terms of grammar. It’s an honor to sing in Kashmiri. It’s such a beautiful, sweet language.”

The music video arrives on the back of several other Kashmir-based projects directed and produced by Renzu. That includes singer-composer Ali Sethi’s “Pehla Qadam (Tum Hee Batao),” singer-songwriter Vibha Saraf’s “Jalwe” and Ami Mishra-composed “Bin Puche Ajana.”

Watch the video for “Ae Savere” below.