The Collaborator

Sinopsis

The Collaborator is a haunting coming-of-age story set in the shadow of the Kashmir conflict of the 1990s. Adapted from Mirza Waheed’s internationally celebrated debut novel, the film captures the fragile balance between survival and conscience in one of the most contested and turbulent regions of the world.

At the heart of the story is a young Kashmiri village boy, torn from innocence by war. Coerced into working as an informant for the occupying military, he becomes a reluctant “collaborator,” forced to betray his friends and neighbors while wrestling with his own morality. As he navigates the shifting terrain of loyalty, survival, and guilt, his world becomes one of constant compromise, where silence can be as dangerous as speech, and every decision may cost lives.

Through his eyes, the viewer is immersed in the stark beauty of the valley, juxtaposed against the brutality of occupation. The film does not shy away from the violence and loss that define the conflict, but it also reveals the profound humanity, resilience, and yearning for dignity that endure beneath the scars of war.

Mirza Waheed’s novel, hailed as “a striking debut” by critics worldwide, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. With prose both lyrical and devastating, the book gives voice to Kashmir’s silenced history through the deeply personal perspective of one boy caught between two irreconcilable worlds. The film honors this legacy by bringing Waheed’s intimate, human portrait of conflict to the screen, inviting audiences into a story that resonates far beyond its geographic setting.

The Collaborator speaks to the universal cost of war—the erosion of youth, the corrosion of trust, and the indelible mark of survival. At once a personal story and a political allegory, it challenges viewers to confront the price of silence and the courage it takes to tell the truth.

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