Humaira Nabi

 

Srinagar, Dec 14:Sahil Tariq was just two, when his father disappeared, leaving behind his wife and three sons. Being the youngest among his siblings Sahil witnessed his family in most harsh financial conditions.

 

His mother Tahira Tariq sold all her belongings to continue their studies. While Sahil’s elder brothers studied in an orphanage in Srinagar, Sahil was lucky to stay with his mother.

 

As a kid Sahil often accompanied his mother, who is now the spokesperson of Association of Disappeared persons in Kashmir (APDP), to sit-in protests at Pratap Park Srinagar.

 

18 years later, Sahil has made his name as a lifestyle Vlogger in Kashmir. Sahil alias Sahil Star, with a relaxed and chatty style has gained thousands of subscribers over a period of just one year. He has set up his YouTube channel titled ‘Sahil Star’ after getting inspired by famous Vloggers.

 

 “I binge watched Imad clicks and Danish Zehan. I loved what they did, so I started my own YouTube channel and uploaded every possible thing. It gained huge response from the viewers but the channel  was blocked soon as few of my videos violated some of the companies policies,” Sahil said.

 

“But I didn’t give up. I started again from the bottom and now I have a viewership in thousands,” he said.

 

Sahil completed his secondary education from a public school in Rajbagh, Srinagar. He got selected in Electrical Engineering, but dropped out after some time. Soon,  he started Vloging promptly.

 

Unlike many other Vloggers , who see this as a hobby, Sahil refers to it as a passion and treats it as a sentient thing. From food, makeup, talking head and how-to videos, Sahil shares his day to day activities with his viewers.

 

While sharing his experience as a lifestyle Vlogger, Sahil said that when he wake up in the morning the first thing that comes to my mind is my Vlog.

 

"I’m comfortable sharing my daily schedule with my audience and making a living out of it,” he said.

 

Sahil is an emerging mogul for Vloging in the valley as he has succeeded in establishing a niche audience, who want to have a glimpse of celebrity lives.

 

 Sahil shoots the videos from his android phone and believes that having costly gears are not important in Vloging.

 

“I shoot all the videos using my phone. Though the quality of my videos might not be at par with others but I love what I do as it has created a new space for young Vloggers like me who lack high quality production equipments but at the same time are passionate about it,” he said.

 

Urbain Fayaz, 17, has been enthusiastically following Sahil Star over the past few years. While sharing his experience Urbain said that with very few entertainment platforms available in Kashmir I fell connected with Sahil’s videos.

 

"Sahil Star offers a lucrative content for young Kashmiris which is quite rare to find here in the Valley. I feel as if I’m a part of his life,” he said.

 

Vloging is not the only talent Sahil possesses. Sahil is also a recognised cricketer from Kashmir. He played as a wicket-keeper batsman in Jammu Kashmir team back in 2017.

 

“I played as a wicket-keeper batsman at national level and did quite well in the matches I played. I was appreciated by many senior cricketers including Irfan Pathan.  But I left the team in 2018 because I sensed some favoritism towards some players," he alleged.

 

Disparate other families Sahil is blessed with the one who appreciate his knack in Vlogging. Sahil’s mother has been his greatest support.

 

“I am thankful to my mother for supporting me. She has always encouraged me to do the things I love.  She even helps me with the content for my Vlog and shares my videos with her friends and family.

 

“The vivid hair colours that I’m known for, it’s my mother who suggests it,” Sahil said.