The time for Punjabi cinema’s transition from the farcical to the authentic and entertaining idiom seems to have drawn closer. Director, Manmohan Singh, Raj Babbar and Harbhajan Mann have teamed up to boost the industry that is fast becoming an independent venture. The spread of Sikh Diaspora in the West has increased the demand of a representative cinema that may address their life experiences. Gurinder Chadha’s journey from London to Los Angeles points to her success story. She has already made her name with commercial successes like ‘Bend It like Beckham’ and ‘Bhaji on the Beach’. Raj Babbar’s Punjbi premier ‘Yaraa Naal Baharan’ is establishing him as a major voice in the Punjabi cinema industry. But there are signals in the other directions too.

The involvement of Akal Takhat,— the Sikhs’ highest seat of spiritual and temporal authority, in ‘Jo Bole So Nihal’ controversy pointed more to the inept handling of the matter than to the real issue at heart. The protest against Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s performance ‘Behzti’ in London also signaled to the increasing concern at misrepresentation. The critics say sexual abuses and murders in religious places took place more when they were under the control of the British rule. S.G.P.C. was the outcome of a vehement non-violent struggle to free Gurdwaras from their unholy alliances. This aspect hardly is the subject of any story.

The burgeoning interest in the West has increased the demand for knowledgeable preachers, serious scholars, and highly acclaimed musicians of Gurbani. In the ethnic, multicultural and postcolonial studies departments of the universities too there is a growing interest in scriptures, history, geopolitics of the region. The Sikh history has fascinated the Bollywood recently. Raj Babbar sees a great cinema success in filming Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s period. The new genre has already come up in the form of computerized animation of Sahibjadas. It is becoming a big success story.

In view of the swift pace of developments, SGPC has made very little efforts to address the needs and concerns of silver screen. The detailed guidelines should have been worked out for the cinema world to avoid the scenes that are sensitive to the Sikh world. In the absence of such a special knowledge, the controversy of ‘Jo Bole So Nihal’ boomeranged. Similarly other issues like the question of translation of Guru Granth Sahib in other languages, Nanak Shahi Calendar, and women seva issues refer more to the political allegiances than to the belief system of Gurbani.

The issues which are most likely to raise their heads again may be on the question of animation of Sikh history. Whether it will accept animation of Sikh Gurus or not is not clear at all. To what extent Sikh history can be animated needs the consideration of religious scholars, SGPC and the Akal Takhat. It is a right time that the leadership come into action to tackle such problems

The question of SGPC becoming sensitive to these special needs is more relevant than it had ever been before. With the fast developments taking place at the national and international levels, Sikhs have been facing torments in countries like France and Belgium. SGPC has definitely issued statements of taking some measure to help the victimized Sikhs in those countries, but a lot has still remained undone.

Dr. Manmohan Singh’s visit to France was so business oriented that it totally bypassed the Turban issue as if it was non-existent. It must have given France the impression that Indian government cares very little about the Sikh demand. There was no symbolic cue for the French Sikh to take pride in the Indian Prime Minister. SGPC needs to revamp its functioning in such a manner so that controversies are resolved before they become worse. For instance, the non acceptance of Nanak Shahi Calendar by other Takhats was left unresolved, and now again it has become an issue. The SGPC can’t expect a response on its own terms without explaining the philosophy of those terms.

Sikh Diaspora looks towards Amritsar not only for inspiration but also for the rightful direction. In the nonexistence of such guidelines, things may turn out to be unpleasant for the Sikh world. The secretariat of the SGPC and the Akal Takhat needs to expand in order to take into account the challenges Sikhs will face in the future. The issue of ‘Jo Bole So Nihal’ and Women seva has made one thing clearer that there is no arrangement to take such problems in the stride. The institution of Akal Takhat requires the support of secretaries who can work with panels of scholars, spiritual leaders, and specialists of different fields of knowledge. The dilemma of Sikh history and its filming is a significant challenge that needs to be settled before any guidelines are made available to the public. It isn’t wise to wake up when already too much water has flowed under the bridge.


Copyright ©2005 Amrik Singh Saini. About the author