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Coming-of-age drama The Collaborator explores conflict in Kashmir
The Collaborator premiered in the 2024 San Diego International Film Festival’s official competition and was also an official selection at the Antakya Film Festival in Turkey.
Poster of the film. / Courtesy Photo
A new feature film, The Collaborator, set against the turbulent backdrop of 1990s Kashmir, presents a coming-of-age narrative amid the ongoing conflict along the Line of Control (LoC).
Adapted from Mirza Waheed’s acclaimed novel, the film follows a teenage boy recruited by an army officer to enter dangerous zones and retrieve weapons and identification cards from the bodies of deceased militants. This harrowing task is shadowed by the boy’s personal dread, as he fears discovering one of his missing friends among the casualties.
Produced entirely by women, The Collaborator aims to foster awareness of the region's longstanding tension while promoting themes of peace and tolerance. Directed by first-time feature filmmaker Travis Hodgkins, the film adapts Waheed’s New York Times bestseller, which was also a finalist for the Guardian First Book Award and the Shakti Bhatt Prize.
In a statement, Hodgkins expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to tackle such a sensitive subject. He described the film’s portrayal of the teenager's perspective, where innocence clashes with the brutal realities of war. “It’s like suddenly being lost in a storm without any heading, and the only people you can take a reckoning from are the adults around you, assuming you can trust them to guide you safely to a port. What our protagonist realizes is he can only trust himself because all around him are just as lost,” Hodgkins noted.
Namrata Sharma (EP), Swetha Pakala (EP), Cristy Coors Beasley (Producer), Rashaana Shah (Producer), Chaitra Vedullapalli (EP), Amanda Thompson (EP). / Courtesy PhotoThe film stars UK actor Rudi Dharmalingam (known for Control, The Lazarus Project, Wakefield) as “Captain Kadian,” alongside newcomer Nikhil Singh Rai as “The Boy.” Rai’s casting followed an extensive two-year search. The ensemble cast includes Nitin Ganatra (Eastenders) as the Village Headman and Vikram Kapadia (The Night Manager) as a senior Kashmiri villager.
This is the second collaboration between producers Rashaana Shah (Blowing Up Right Now, Bollywood Hero) and Cristy Coors Beasley (The Westsiders, Lonelygirl15) this year. The Collaborator is a joint production from the Republic of Georgia, India, and the USA, filmed in the Caucasus mountains in Georgia. MXW Ventures and CnR Films serve as executive producers, with contributions from Chaitra Vedullapalli, Namrata Sharma, and Swetha Pakala. The film’s production team includes award-winning cinematographer Johan Holmqvist (Springfloden), editor Jamie Kirkpatrick (Old Henry, Critical Thinking), and composer Wayne Sharpe (Resilient).
The Collaborator premiered in the 2024 San Diego International Film Festival’s official competition and was also an official selection at the Antakya Film Festival in Turkey.
In a related initiative, Chaitra Vedullapalli, who is an executive producer on the film, partnered with the San Diego International Film Festival this year to launch AI scholarships valued at $2.25 million for emerging filmmakers, aimed at supporting new voices in the industry.
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