Taurees Habib basks in sound of success
Pakistani talent continues to shine on the global stage. On Wednesday, sound engineer Taurees Habib took to social media to remind fans that he had quietly made history earlier this year, becoming the first Pakistani sound engineer — and only the second Pakistani overall — to win a Grammy Award.
"I'm so incredibly honoured to have received this for my work," he wrote. "And to be the first Pakistani to receive this for engineering and only the second Pakistani ever to win a Grammy. It's crazy to walk into my living room and see this thing just sitting there."
Habib received the award in February for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (Including Film and Television) for his contribution to German music producer Hans Zimmer's score for Dune: Part Two.
Over the weekend, he also shared a video unboxing the golden gramophone. "So, something happened this February, and I haven't really talked about it," he said with a smile. "It felt like one of those things that'd be better to show than tell about."
Pulling the trophy from its packaging, Habib reflected on the journey. "I'm so lucky to have gotten to go along for the ride with all the people on our team who put their blood, sweat, and tears into bringing Hans Zimmer's vision to life," he wrote.
The 2025 Grammy Awards, hosted by Trevor Noah in February, celebrated artistic excellence across genres. While Habib's award went largely under the radar at the time, it carried special significance for Pakistan, marking a milestone in an industry where recognition rarely crosses borders.
Zimmer's score for Dune: Part Two had faced hurdles earlier in awards season — the Academy had ruled it ineligible for the Oscars because it carried over too many themes from Dune: Part One.
Even so, Denis Villeneuve's sequel went on to secure five Oscar nominations in other categories, including Best Picture, Sound, Production Design, Cinematography and Visual Effects.
Zimmer, meanwhile, added to an already storied career, with the win marking his fifth Grammy after earlier victories for The Lion King, The Dark Knight and Crimson Tide.
For Habib, the Grammy is just the latest highlight in a career spanning over a decade. According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), he has been credited in the Music Department of 41 films and series since 2013.
The credits include blockbusters such as Interstellar (2014), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Dunkirk (2017), No Time to Die (2021), and both instalments of Dune. More recently, he contributed to F1: The Movie (2025) starring Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem and Kerry Condon, as well as Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022).
Often credited for "digital instrument preparation" or "sampling team" work, Habib has been part of teams that shaped the sonic landscapes of Hollywood's most ambitious projects. Beyond engineering, he also holds an Actor credit on IMDb for voicing "Nawar" in the 2017 podcast series Rose Drive, which enjoys a 7.8 rating.
The Karachi-born engineer is now the second Pakistani ever to win a Grammy, following vocalist Arooj Aftab, who received the accolade in 2022 for her song Mohabbat. Habib's achievement has been widely appreciated, highlighting the growing recognition of Pakistani talent in international creative and technical fields, according to Radio Pakistan.