After earning international acclaim with the world premiere in London, acclaimed Kashmiri short film “Tasrufdar: Djinns of Kashmir” is set to premiere in Srinagar later this month, with filmmaker Kapil Mattoo hoping the screening will start an honest dialogue among Kashmiris on memories, loss and reconciliation rooted in the events of 1990.Describing the Kashmiri-language directorial as “more than a film”, Mattoo said “Tasrufdar” is an emotional journey that seeks to bring to the surface feelings that have remained buried for over three decades.“It is an emotion for me. It is more than a film. I think it is a necessary conversation between two Kashmiris,” Mattoo told PTI in an interview here.He said while many Kashmiris displaced from the Valley have rebuilt their lives elsewhere over the past 35 years, the emotional wounds remain.“Whether someone lives in London, Jammu or Delhi, people may have moved on with life, but those emotions are still buried deep inside. We need to vent them out and unblock them,” he said.Mattoo said he was particularly looking forward to the Srinagar premiere. “The film had its premiere in the United Kingdom at the UK Asian Film Festival 2028 edition in London, where it was very well received. I am now eagerly looking forward to premiering it at INOX Srinagar, which we are planning to do later this month, in July. The dates will be announced very soon”, he said.He called upon Kashmiris to come and watch the film.“I want to watch ‘Tasrufdar’ in Kashmir together with Kashmiris-all Kashmiris, including Kashmiri Muslims, Kashmiri Pandits and Sikhs. I want to see how they respond to the film because it is our story. It is everyone’s story. That is the essence of the film, and I am very excited about it”, he added.He said that the film travelled internationally and even sparked discussions in Boston. “My stories often have open endings because Kashmir itself has no definitive ending yet. People connected with that ambiguity,” he said.The filmmaker said the project does not attempt to provide answers to the complex events surrounding the 1990 exodus but instead encourages people to share their own experiences and perspectives.“My characters speak about what they have gone through and how it affected them. Everyone has been impacted in one way or another over the last three decades. If the story triggers those emotions, people irrespective of religion will connect with it because we have all lived through history in our own way,” he said.“It is not mine. It belongs to everyone. It is a collective memory, collective grief and collective emotion. I think these stories can become the beginning of conversations among Kashmiris themselves,” he said.Written, directed and produced by Mattoo under Mattoo Mania Productions in association with Walnut Creative Ideas Pvt Ltd and Safdar Arts, Tasrufdar draws upon Kashmiri folklore and the mystical concept of ‘Tasrufdar’ (jinns) to tell a deeply human story of friendship, memory and reconciliation.The film follows Mir, a middle-aged Kashmiri Muslim, who is haunted by the spirit of his late father’s childhood friend, Shamboo Nath, a Kashmiri Pandit, nearly 35 years after they were separated by the upheaval of 1990. Waiting between two chinar trees, the spirit seeks answers about the night that changed both their lives, leading to a poignant conversation on loss, memory and healing.The narrative interweaves the mystical folklore of Kashmir with the timeless ‘vakhs’ of mystic poetess Lal Ded, exploring themes of empathy, coexistence and the region’s shared cultural heritage.Mattoo said the film has been conceived and created entirely by Kashmiris.“It is written in Kashmiri and completely made by Kashmiris. The actors, technicians, music, background score and songs-all are from Kashmir. It is truly a Kashmiri film,” he said.The film features Ashwath Bhat, Bashir Lone, Shafia Maqbool, Aurooba Javed and Mir Sarwar, who is also the associate producer under Safdar Arts. Cinematography is by Syed Ali, while Umar Nisar serves as assistant director and data manager and Mir Momin is the line producer.After the premiere at a film festival in London, where it received critical appreciation, the Srinagar screening is expected to mark the film’s first public showing in Kashmir.Mattoo, who migrated from Kashmir in 1990 at the age of 14, said his connection with the Valley was rekindled while working on the web series “Tanaav”, inspiring him to tell authentic stories from Jammu and Kashmir.Following the international recognition of his earlier short film “Haaput” (The Bear), Mattoo said “Tasrufdar” continues his effort to take stories rooted in Kashmir’s lived experiences, folklore and cultural traditions to audiences across India and the world.
