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Editor-- Mr. Chadha’s response to Hidden Agenda was forwarded to Vishavjit Singh. Vishavjit’s response to Ishwinder is also published below.

Dear Sir,

I write with reference to Vishavjit Singh's article ‘Hidden Agenda' in the
January 2003 edition of Sikh Spectrum. First I must congratulate the author
for not going overboard in his article as has been the case in many such
previous attempts by other authors. However his article has some factual
inaccuracies, which I wish to highlight:

Fantasy vs Reality: The author starts by saying that most of what is shown
in Bollywood movies is from Fantasyland. He however has a soft corner for
Hollywood movies. I fail to see how Hollywood movies are close to reality?
In fact in many ways they are farther off! Anyways when a person is watching
a movie he wishes to forget about his daily life and be transported to
Fantasyland. That is precisely why movies are not close to reality.

Memorable Sikh roles: The author says that there have been no memorable Sikh
roles in Hindi movies. Here he is wrong. While I am not particularly a fan
of Bollywood films I can recall some memorable roles outrightly. The movies
were: Vijeta, Kohraam, Tum Bin, Border, Hindustan Ki Kasam, Zakhm, Jeevan
Mrityu, Indrajit, Lagaan etc. There would be many more. Infact in some of
these movies the main lead was played by a Sikh character.

Patka wearing Sikhs: Vishavjit has made a very good point. The important
question is why is such a portrayal taking place? The answer is not far to
seek. Take a look at Sikh youth in places outside Punjab say Delhi, Mumbai,
Chennai. You will see majority of them wear patkas even when they have full
beards (Vishavjit's facts are wrong here). Since Bollywood's impression
about Sikhs is based on Sikh population in these cities, it is no wonder
that such a portrayal is taking place.

Portrayal as fools: It is a fact that some Bollywood movies have portrayed
Sikhs as fools and ridiculed them. I have myself been in the forefront of
opposing such movies. However an important point to note here is the
portrayal of Sikhs in Punjabi movies. It is along similar lines. Secondly
many a times Sikhs have acted irresponsibly in public. I have myself been
witness to such incidents. It might be argued that such people are not
really Sikhs. That does not matter. In the eyes of the world they are Sikhs.

Mission Kashmir: The example of Mission Kashmir is often quoted in support
of wrong portrayal of Sikhs. In an opening scene a Sikh soldier is shown
urinating out of fear when he comes to know that he is standing on a bridge,
which is fitted with explosives. However if you see the entire movie you
won't see much wrong in the portrayal of Sikhs. There are two other very
important scenes:

1) In the first scene the Sikh officer shows sense to a Hindu officer
enraged at Muslims (because some Islamic militants had killed his family) by
highlighting the 1984 riots (in which his family was killed by a Hindu
mob)and his own refusal to blame the entire Hindu community as culprit.

2) In the second scene the Sikh officer saves Sanjay Dutt from Hrithik by
risking his own life.

What I mean to say is that overall in the movie the portrayal of Sikhs was
not in bad light. Rather the image of Sikhs came across as rational and
brave people.

The author is right when he states that majority of army men involved in J&K
are Sikhs. Why was only one Sikh character shown then?

Bhagat Singh: While you and me would like to believe that Bhagat Singh died
as a Keshdhari it is not necessarily true. It is a fact that Bhagat Singh
was an atheist and had Marxist leanings. On whether he became a Keshdhari
before his Death nothing can be said with surety. We only have Bhai Randhir
Singh's Account. Also 4 movies were made on Hagar Singh. One of them did
show that he Was a kithara at the time of his death? In all the 4 movies the
portrayal of Bhagat Singh's family members was very good. All of them were
Sikhs.

Hollywood/ Bollywood: I haven't seen the movie so I can't comment. But what
I hear about the movie, it seems it is not too far from reality as far as
portrayal of the diaspora based Sikh girl is shown. Incidentally the movie
has done very well in Canada which has a large Sikh population.

These are some of the points which came to my mind at the moment.

Ishwinder Singh Chadha
Indian Institute of Management,
Off Sitapur Road, Lucknow
India

Vishavjit Singh’s response to Ishwinder Singh Chadha

The issue is not misrepresentation of facts but how they are perceived. Most
non-Sikhs who watch Bollywood movies will believe what they see. But as one
scans the entire range of Sikh appearance in Bollywood it becomes abundantly
clear that most Sikh characters lack depth.

One can point to movies that do have more developed Sikh roles but the fact
remains that majority of Sikh roles in Bollywood are brief. Out of these
brief appearances a significant number are comical in nature.

Most Sikhs would find it difficult to believe that because some Sikhs at
times have behaved irresponsibly in public warrants the frequency of comical
Sikhs characters in Bollywood flicks. Can you name me a community whose
members have not behaved irresponsibly in public? Are these communities as
frequently ridiculed in movies? How can you even justify the wrong portrayal
of a community based on the acts of a few?

The important point to note is the repeated projection of larger than life
comical Sikh by an industry (Bollywood and Punjabi films) that traditionally
has been dominated by Punjabis mostly non-Sikhs. Rare are those movie
moments where a Sikh is in the lead role with a non-Sikh being the butt of a
joke. For my part, I don’t desire to see any community being ridiculed for
cheap thrill.

What was the need to show the Sikh soldier in Mission Kashmir? What was that
scene expected to prove? Isn’t it a soldier’s duty to die for the country? I
don’t think a soldier will get scared of a bomb planted underneath a wooden
bridge. Why even join the army? Sikh soldiers have proven their worth over
the last 500 years of our history. They are the most distinguished and
decorated soldiers.

Bollywood scriptwriters need to research more and keep their personal
prejudices in check while writing scripts for movies if they truly want to
earn our respect. There was no need for that scene. It did not add to the
movie in any way. It seemed deliberate.

Despite a few movies that do have some “developed Sikh characters” it is the
all too often use of Sikh characters for comical entertainment, which seems
to be the most memorable aspect of Sikh roles in Bollywood. Perpetually
seeing a Sikhs character make a brief appearance to perform a brave act is
not what I seek. Most Sikhs would prefer to see a role that reflects the
complexity of real life in all its dimensions.

It is true that compared to the past, when most Sikhs would wear a turban at
a younger age, many Sikh men wear patkas till late teens. It is also
true that a large number of these men wear a turban outside of their home or
college. Many Sikh schools require men to wear a turban to school and even
in non-Sikh schools a good number of Sikh men wear a turban except when
participating in sports. This reality should also be shown.

Indeed, people see movies for a break from reality but the after taste from
movies does extend into social conversations and beyond. Portrayal of
characters on the big screen is not an entirely benign experience. Movies do
at times reflect the mood of the times or what people expect to see as
evidenced from the recent proliferation of movies beckoning the patriotic
spirit in light of a perceived external enemy.

The lack of an in-depth exploration of a modern and historical Sikh
character on films reflecting the dynamic diversity of Sikh experience makes
the need for us to seriously think about making movies to tell the world
about who we are and how we live. Such movies will have light-hearted
moments but these need to be balanced with a truthful portrayal of many
other aspects of life that a Sikh confronts on a daily basis.

Comments and Feedback on Issue No. 8, January 2003