Masrat Un Nisa on Channeling Raj Begum in Upcoming Film ‘Songs of Paradise’

The upcoming film Songs of Paradise has seen a good amount of anticipation behind it, starring actor-singer Saba Azad in the lead role inspired by Kashmiri singer Raj Begum – the first female vocalist at the local station Radio Kashmir who rose to fame in the Seventies.

A larger point that the film’s director, Los Angeles-based Kashmiri filmmaker Danish Renzu, wants to make is about the struggles and successes of artists in Kashmir. That’s where singer Masrat Un Nisa comes in. Making her debut in a film soundtrack, Masrat is the singing voice of Azad in Songs of Paradise. Featuring music composed by Abhay Rustum Sopori, Masrat says she was “thrilled” to be a part of the film. She says, “The opportunity to contribute to a project that empowers female singers in a predominantly male-dominated industry was inspiring. It’s been an honor to be involved with Songs of Paradise, and I am eagerly anticipating the final outcome.”

It also heightens expectations for Masrat since none of her songs have been officially released so far, which means the world might just get to hear her first on Songs of Paradise, which is produced by L.A.-based Kashmiri entrepreneur Shafat Qazi. A singer since childhood, the artist says she’s been participating in music competitions throughout her school and college years. Among her biggest gigs, she recounts, is performing at the SaMaPa Aalap Festival of Sopori Academy of Music And Performing Arts in Jammu & Kashmir. “Although I am not a trained singer, I developed my skills by listening to greats like Raj Begum, Shameem Azad, and Kailash Mehra. I have always been inspired by the compositions of the great music legend and music composer, the late Pandit Bhajan Sopori ji,” she adds.

As a singer inspired by Raj Begum herself, Masrat says it was “daunting” to imitate the voice that was widely regarded as the Melody Queen of Kashmir for Songs of Paradise. On the soundtrack, Masrat leads versions of Begum’s famous songs recomposed by Sopori. “Despite the difficulties, I put my utmost effort into doing justice to these assignments,” the singer says.

She credits Sopori and Renzu for “clear and precise directions” when it came to singing for the narrative. Although she wasn’t watching any early scenes from Songs of Paradise to prepare her songs, Masrat says she watched some footage later and says it made her “feel proud to be part of this film.”

In addition to being part of Songs of Paradise, Masrat is also singing on music coming out via the Kashmiri label Renzu Music and has “a couple of projects lined up that should be completed by the end of this year.”