Kashmiri Filmmaker Reimagines Joker In Srinagar, Says 'It's Time To Tell Our Own Stories'

Srinagar: A Kashmiri independent filmmaker is turning familiar Western icons like Joker and Bruce Wayne into local characters set against the streets and winter nights of Srinagar, but says the larger goal is not adaptation. It is about building a homegrown cinema culture. With his new independent film "J in the City," writer-director Musa Farhat has reimagined two globally known screen personas through a Kashmiri lens. The film borrows the audience's familiarity with those figures, then places them in a sharply designed fictional Srinagar world of vintage cars, controlled aesthetics and long night shoots.

For Musa, the decision was both creative and practical. "The concept of Joker is very universal," he said, explaining why he chose a character whose psychology audiences already understand. Using a globally recognised figure helped him avoid spending precious screen time and budget on a heavy backstory. Instead, he focused on what those personalities might look like in his own city. "I wanted to show how these characters would be in my place, from my point of view," Musa said. "These are Western characters, but I wanted to show what they would be doing here and how their story would revolve." The result is "J in the City," an independent entertainer that blends stylised noir visuals with regional storytelling ambition.

Produced by 'No Idea Films', the movie stars Ahmad Parvez and Musa himself, with co-writing by Sheikh Zahid and dialogues by Hamzah Mushtaq. Musa is careful about how he defines the project. He calls it an adaptation, not a tribute. "I picked two characters from the West and added my own story," he said. "This is Kashmir. I have not shown Gotham. The story is mine." That distinction is central to the film's identity. Rather than retelling an existing comic-book arc or Hollywood action template, Musa uses the audience's memory of those archetypes as an entry point into a different emotional and geographic landscape. The film's visual consistency was among its toughest challenges. Musa said he was determined to maintain a single aesthetic language across cars, homes, roads and architecture.

"If we are making Joker, we need to maintain one world," he said, describing the difficulty of ensuring that every frame supported the illusion of a constructed cinematic universe. That challenge became even harder during winter. Much of the film was shot during Chillai Kalan, Kashmir's harshest 40-day winter period, when temperatures plunge, and outdoor work becomes punishing. Musa said makeup alone often took five hours, beginning before dawn, before the crew moved into long outdoor shoots dominated by the demands of artificial lighting. Night filming in Kashmir, he said, was especially difficult because lighting became the difference between atmosphere and failure.

Kashmiri Filmmaker (Photo: ETV Bharat)

It took Musa and his team three long years to make their dream a reality. The struggle reflects a broader reality for Kashmiri independent cinema, where filmmakers often work without financial backing, institutional support or reliable distribution. Musa said the audience response to the film has been encouraging, but he worries that local films still do not receive enough attention from local viewers. "People are promoting outside films more," he said. "If people here watch our films too, we will get confidence and make better films."

That frustration led to his most pointed appeal, one that speaks to the larger state of regional filmmaking in Kashmir. "It is the time that we tell our own stories, because there are so many stories here, and culturally we are very rich," Musa said. The line captures the larger peg of his filmmaking journey. For Musa, "J in the City" is less about borrowing Joker's darkness or Bruce Wayne's action legacy and more about proving that Kashmir can generate its own fictional worlds. He argues that film festivals alone will not help the region’s cinema evolve. "Films reaching festivals is necessary," he said. "But unless local people consume that product, I do not think cinema here will evolve." The director pointed to the growth of South Indian and Punjabi cinema as examples of how regional industries develop over time through audience support, not only critical recognition.

Kashmiri Filmmaker Reimagines Joker In Srinagar (Photo: Special Arrangement)

His next step, he said, depends on whether that support grows. "If people watch this film, we get confidence that we have an audience," Musa said. "Then we can make bigger films, not just short films or experimental films, but proper films that can be shown in cinema halls." Kashmiri filmmaker and critic Sibtain Hyder said the attempt itself signals progress. "The future will improve when we start producing films in Kashmir," Hyder said. “There has always been a culture here of watching films more than making them. If Musa is making such films, this is the beginning." Hyder added that independent production without financial backing makes the achievement even more significant. "Growth is happening," he said, adding, "The attempt itself is a very big thing."