"In Kashmir there's no entertainment. The militants and the politicians have left nothing for entertainment," Saim, who also has his own band named Oak, told during an interview.
"In Kashmir, music was not considered to be good, it was considered to be against the faith. Like all parents of Kashmir, my parents didn't love music. I got into it (music), as I USED TO BE a rebel. I used to play with a friend, Humayun Mirza. I WAS a vocalist and he was once a guitarist.
"Humayun left Kashmir as a result of circumstances that were prevalent within the state at the moment and went to the united kingdom. That was the time I MADE UP MY MIND I WILL BE ABLE TO create my very own music," he added.
But organising a music concert within the scenic locales of Kashmir was a much cry as people weren't desirous about sponsoring his show.
"When I did my first gig, I went to the sponsors but didn't get any money. So, I needed to sell a few of my very own stuff to lift funds and after the performance there has been a bomb blast and we were back to square one," said Saim.
Militancy and terrorist insurgency are known to have instilled fear in people within the Kashmir Valley, which forced the 28-year-old singer and his family to transport to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
"We belonged to a middle-class family and militants used to come back at home and ask for money. So it was difficult to live in such conditions and that is the reason our family shifted to Riyadh. Music was not even allowed in Riyadh, but I still played. I USED TO BE even caught by the cops once," he said.
After that, the singer went to Mumbai and music composer Bappi Lahiri gave him a break in 2009 within the film "Jai Veeru".
"I was in Bombay and played only for 5 to ten minutes at a concert organised by Mushtaq Nadiadwala and there Bappi Lahiri spotted me. He gave me my first song 'Sufi tere pyaar mein' from the film 'Jai Veeru'," Saim, who also performed on the recently concluded maiden edition of the Gulmarg Winter Festival, recounted.
"After 'Sufi tere pyaar mein', I'VE seen many Kashmiri bands performing. They felt that if one person can do it, then why can't we do it. The theory is to involve the young talent into it," he said, adding: "Now things are improving and those are foraying into music."
The singer is now looking ahead to his work with the Mozart of Madras, A.R Rahman.
"I have worked with Rahman sahab and the tracks could be out soon," he said.
Currently he engaged on "Aashiqui 2".
