For Danish Renzu, music is about changing the narrative surrounding his home.

The South Asian region of Kashmir has been embroiled in territorial disputes between India and Pakistan for nearly 80 years. Renzu, a UCLA alumnus, said he hopes to change the image of the region by highlighting Kashmiri artists. Having graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in 2010, Renzu said he worked in engineering until 2015, when he started a filmmaking company. It was not until 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, that Renzu transitioned to music production after moving home to Kashmir from Los Angeles, he said.

“This whole music scene came into existence starting in 2020, when COVID happened,” Renzu said. “The situation was terrible, so I wanted to stay with my family for some time.”

During this time, Renzu said he collaborated with Pakistani-American artist Ali Sethi to shoot the music video for Sethi’s song “Pehla Qadam (Tum Hee Bataao)” in Kashmir. Renzu said he aimed to use music to bring people together during the pandemic, adding that the goal of the song was to promote collaboration between members of the South Asian diaspora – exemplified by a production team that included Pakistani producers.

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Renzu said he created his own record label, Renzu Music, in 2023 to have greater independence over the music he produces. The label, which has worked with artists such as Mohit Chauhan and Sonu Nigam, had four releases in 2023 and two so far in 2024, with three more planned before the end of this year, Renzu added.

Tahir Hussain, a line producer with Renzu Music, said the label aims to promote Kashmiri artists and the Kashmiri landscape by using Kashmir as a location in music videos. As a line producer, Hussain said he works to coordinate logistics for video shoots, such as accommodations, permissions and hiring. Having a label based in Srinagar – Kashmir’s most populous city – can pose some logistical issues due to a lack of infrastructure in the region, Hussain added. However, Renzu said he believes that Srinagar can emerge as a hub for the arts outside of Mumbai – where India’s Hindi film industry, Bollywood, is centered.

“I think it’s going to expand,” Renzu said. “Kashmiris have suffered so much and lived through so much pain and conflict. This is a healing aspect for them.”

Despite its music focus, the label also supports artists beyond the music industry. Salonie Patel, an actress with Renzu Music, said the label has hired her several times to appear in its music videos. Patel said she enjoys working for the label because it supports independent artists who often possess talent but lack the funding to produce music. She added that the label also serves as a way to promote Kashmiri culture.

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Patel said her favorite part of working on Renzu Music’s videos is that they allow her to travel to Kashmir and experience the culture and beauty of the area. She said the label’s music video sets include an array of Kashmiri foods – a type of cuisine she loves but only has access to on these work trips.

“The place is beautiful, the sounds and the music and the instruments that come from there is beautiful,” she said. “It’s important that that needs to be promoted.”

Reflecting on the creative process, Patel said Renzu Music allows her to listen to a preliminary version of the song to decide if she wants to appear in the accompanying music video. She added that working on these music videos allows her to explore a different side of acting compared to her work in theater or the web space. Patel said she hopes the label will continue to focus on Kashmiri artists in the future but also expand to support independent artists throughout India. Her hope for Renzu Music is for the label to have an impact across Kashmir and beyond, she said.

Renzu said having a Kashmiri-focused label is important in shifting dialogue about the region, which has long been marred by conflict, including wars between India and Pakistan and militant insurgency in the region. He added that he has been upset by the content from Bollywood that portrays Kashmir in a bad light. Renzu added that to bring peace to Kashmir, film must bring people together and not present Kashmiris negatively.

“They (Bollywood) cannot just use Kashmiri stories and use them as pawns for their narratives,” Renzu said. “They should empower and encourage them.”