Ahaan Panday’s movie, Saiyaara, has etched a place in the hearts of cinephiles. The movie grossed over Rs. 577 crore worldwide, and it’s now available on Netflix. As expected, it has once again captured the hearts of audiences, both on and off the screens. Earlier, speculations were rife that the movie would stream on Netflix during Diwali.
However, YRF and Netflix decided to drop the movie on September 12, 2025, and yet again, Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda’s film has been hogging the headlines. Amidst this, let’s take a moment to acknowledge the one behind the scenes, the talented singer who lent his voice to Ahaan through the title track of the film, which, in a word, has been on the lips of cinephiles for over two months now.
Who sang the title track of Saiyaara?
For the unversed, Mohit Suri has chosen Faheem Abdullah to sing the title track of the movie, Saiyaara. Mohit has been the one to launch Arijit Singh through Aashiqui 2, and now, he has chosen the singer from Srinagar, which also proved to be an amazing decision. Faheem, through his song, has carved a space in the hearts of everyone, and now, without further ado, let’s know everything about him and his collaborator, Arslan Nizami.
Who is Faheem Abdullah, the singer who lent his voice to Ahaan Panday through the Saiyaara title track?
Saiyaara was not only the debut project for Ahaan and Aneet but also for Faheem Abdullah, who was born and brought up in Srinagar. While most of the songs of the movie were sung by Vishal Mishra and composed by Tanishk Bagchi, the title track was sung and composed by Faheem and his collaborator, Arslan. Faheem revealed being connected to music from a very early age. He shared that music made him feel alive more than any living being ever could, and he also added that music is a conscious choice that is often done subconsciously. Calling music his companion, Faheem, in one of his bios, once shared:
“Music is very important to me. It has been my companion since childhood, and it has made me feel more than any living being has. My connection with music is on a deeper spiritual level, and I believe that it is an effort to please God in my own way that makes me do music. My music is a conscious choice, even if it is subconsciously done.”
Faheem is from Srinagar, and his singing and songwriting have always been inspired by Kashmiri music and literature. In 2019, Faheem reportedly shifted his focus from studying filmmaking to practical work, exploring various genres and techniques. Back then, he also began his musical experiments. In 2020, he kick-started his music career with a collaborative project, Hum Dekhenge, put together by Rauhan Malik. In the same year, he released his single, Jehlum, through which he captured the spotlight, with his music featured in the BBC World Documentary, Hear My Voice.
Faheem’s second single, Judayi, was also featured on the BBC Asian Network for a week and became one of the most listened to soul tracks in the valley, being released in 2021. In July of the same year, he was featured in one of the songs of the album, Azli by Ahmer Javid. Following this, he also released another single, Aankhein.
Faheem Abdullah’s career in filmmaking and advertising
Apart from his music career, Faheem also tried his hand at documentary filmmaking, as he reportedly began working on a documentary about Kashmir back in 2021 and created video advertisements for local brands. He also assisted Kabir Khan on one of Wonder Cement’s advertisements, which was shot in Pahalgam. Along with this, he collaborated with several artists and on several projects, including Arslan Nizami, Zeeshan Nabi, Tabish Wani, Huzaif Nazar, Yawar Abdal, Ubaid Taj, Ahmer, Hyder Dar and Ravomie Music.
In 2019, Faheem met Khawar Jamsheed, who advised him to work in a direction along with writing. Taking Khawar Jamsheed’s advice, Faheem produced the former’s short film, A Day In A Cafe, which proved to be his stepping stone. Faheem, while working in the filmmaking path, talked about the issues that have prevented the Kashmiri film industry from expanding, mostly due to a lack of finances, production elements, and more.
Faheem Abdullah’s big break with Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara: Who is his collaborator, Arslan?
Faheem Abdullah’s career reached its peak of success when he was selected by Tanishk Bagchi to lend his voice to the title track of the highly anticipated movie, Saiyaara, which turned out to be a tune that people aren’t ready to let go of just yet. Well, how Faheem and his collaborator, Arslan, bagged the opportunity has a story that speaks volumes about the proverb, ‘when there’s a will, there’s a way.’
Arslan, in an interview with the Hindustan Times, revealed that he and Faheem felt their career was stuck within a limited space and were not expanding, which led them to come to the city of dreams, Mumbai. The duo had savings to live for 14 days in Mumbai, and with a leap of faith, they arrived here. On the 13th day, Faheem and Arslan met Tanishk, and well, the rest is history for sure. Along with his Bollywood debut through Ahaan Panday’s movie, currently, he has lakhs of followers on social media and 29 million monthly listeners on Spotify, making him one of the most-streamed Indian artists globally.
Tanishk, whom Faheem and Arslan called their ‘elder brother’, let the duo meet Mohit Suri, who then finalised them as the lead singers of his movie, Saiyaara’s title track. This is a classic example of the fact that with hard work, belief, and fearlessness, anything and everything can be achieved. Talking about the opportunity, Faheem said:
“To be able to do music itself is a privilege. We never thought we’d ever do music for a film. That was never something we consciously thought about until we got that call.”
Saiyaara has been shot in the soul of Kashmir, and with Faheem and Arslan belonging to the same place, there was nothing but alignment, and it worked in such a way that people cannot stop gushing over the same. Talking about Arslan, he has been with Faheem for a long time now, and he has also been advancing in his career. He is a civil engineer in Leh and also works as a composer and lyricist.
While Saiyaara’s title track is not going anywhere so soon, Faheem remained in the background to make it shine forever. With his hard work, passion, and resilience, he created something that would always be alive in the hearts of people, while contributing significantly to the movie’s massive success.
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