Sikh Americans are known for their valor …they are the protectors of men, women
and children in times of hardship – they have an incredible history of
believing in one God and respecting their neighbors religion
and protecting the helpless from the bully …
Determined to qualify and bring “MISTAKEN IDENTITY: Sikhs in America” for the NYIIFV Festival in Los Angeles is a story in itself. The film was produced by two non-Sikh women – 22 year old Amanda Gesine, Host and Investigative Journalist who conceived the idea and New York Filmmaker Vinanti Sarkar from India. After 9/11, Sikhs were mistaken for Arabs and Muslims, simply because they wore turbans and beards for religious reasons. Amanda read about Sodhi – the first martyr - five days after 9/11, followed by over 6-7 more killings of Sikh Americans to date – two days ago, another Sikh taxi driver was shot in California – his identity mistaken for an Arab.
In the film, Amanda admitted that she knew nothing about Sikhs before producing the film. Philip Marshall - 4-time Emmy Award winning editor was hired to work on over 50 hours of digital video, filmed from the East coast across to California (Yuba City, Fresno, Sacramento, etc.) where the first Sikhs arrived in 1880s.
After appealing to the Sikh community for help in distributing the film to mainstream America, Ms Sarkar was invited by Mr. and Mrs. Gurdip Singh Malik, La Canada, in California, who came to the rescue. Mr. Malik and his family are part of the over 120,000 Sikh Americans living on the west coast. They understood the plight of the filmmakers – whose objective is to reach mainstream America to understand who are Sikhs, what is Sikhism – that believes in the equality of all religions, having given their women equal rights 500 years ago.
Malik is President of Papillon Eastern Imports that caters to women’s apparel and accessories – with three different labels: Papillon representing a hot line of women’s contemporary dresses for social occasions, recognized by its touches of bead work, embroidery and prints. Kroshetta is delicately hand knitted crochet dresses and Hibis is the line of rayon cut work dresses and set from exotic Bali.
“Our garments are easy-to-wear, unique, fun, elegant, sexy and noticeable with our target customers from 25-40 – who demand value for quality at competitive prices. We offer broad products as dresses, skirts, tops, camisoles, tanks, jackets, blouses, pants, shawls, scarves and handbags.”
Papillon has been operating out of Los Angeles for the past twenty years with a staff working together in creating, operating and manufacturing and marketing in the USA and overseas, with units in India, China and Bali. It has showrooms in around the US, Mexico, Canada and Puerto Rico.
For interview with Mr. Gurdip Singh Malik – Phone 213-624-2242
