Singhs are kings

Bollywood often made caricatures out of Sikh characters, invariably portraying them as loud people with little insight and depth. However, winds of change are blowing with the Sikhs being treated with respect and sensitivity on screen. The list of movies showing them as having real and credible personas has been growing. Nonika Singh checks out

Kabir Bedi as Gobinda in James Bond film Octopussey

Puneet Issar's directorial venture I Am Singh is being released in early December

As Puneet Issar is busy putting finishing touches to his directorial venture I Am Singh, he has a two-point agenda. First and foremost is to tell the world that Sikhs are a distinct race, not to be confused with any other race, as had happened post-9/11.

Secondly, the actor, who himself has played some stellar Sikh characters as in Border, wants to undo the damage, which he feels many Bollywood directors have done to the glory of Sikhs. He fumes, "Sikhs are such a unique race. Singh is one who stands against injustice. yet look at the way Bollywood has treated the qaum, made a mockery out of them." So is his anger well-directed? Does he have a valid point or is he saying his merely to sell his film?

In the past, indeed more often than not Sikhs have been portrayed as bumbling characters, completely divorced from their real persona that is both stylish and courageous.

Actor and music composer Kamal Tewari, who has played cameo Sikh characters in two films Train to Pakistan and Jab We Met, rues, "The rich culture of Punjab has been reduced to a mere tamasha. Often films, even the ones like Singh is Kinng, considered a path-breaking movie, made caricatures out of Sikhs, who are invariably portrayed as loud people with little insight and depth. Few filmmakers have understood that Sikhs are not just balle balle and shaava shaava. They are the ruling class, bureaucrats, brave officers and much more."

Filmmaker and actor Jaspal Bhatti, who made a foray into Bollywood with his Sikh identity intact many years ago, however, begs to differ. Says he, "This objection about unflattering portrayal of Sikhs applied several years ago. Today, Sikhs are treated with respect and sensitivity on screen."

Back in time, Sikhs may have been often relegated to comic roles and were made a standing butt of ridicule and jokes but fast-forward and the checklist of recent films proves differently. The list of movies in which Sikhs have emerged as real and credible, often incredible people, has only been growing. What are even better, movies like Rocket Singh — Salesman of the Year, Love Aaj Kal and Heroes has filmstars themselves playing the lead protagonists. Many a superstar like Amitabh Bachchan Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ranbir Kapoor, Sunny Deol have stepped into the role of a Sikh gentleman and played it with aplomb.

Refreshingly, the change applies equally to cameos. So Tewari may have played a small role of Kareena’s father in Jab We Met, but the portrayal was understated and dignified. Kabir Bedi as the Army General in Main Hoon Na too was a far cry from the stereotype that Bollywood had been busy churning out for decades. Bhatti says that the happy tidings began several years ago, when Rishi Kapoor approached him for a part in Aa Ab Laut Chalen, Kapoor told Bhatti that he wasn’t looking for a comedian but considering him for a serious part.

Well-known Punjabi filmmaker Manmohan Singh feels that the seeds for the acceptance of Punjabi culture were sown way back. Says he, "Filmmakers like Yash Chopra, whose films invariably had a Punjabi milieu, had prepared the ground." Only now, Punjabiyat has become a buzzword and the universal appeal has spread worldwide, which explains why every other film has a Punjabi backdrop and includes not only Sikh characters but also Punjabi singers. And it’s not only Issar, who has taken the trouble of involving a turban-tying specialist from Patiala to make sure that the Sikh identity is not compromised with any way.

Recalls Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari, National Award winning costume designer, who gave Saif Ali Khan the perfect turbaned look in Love Aaj Kal, how both Imtiaz Ali and Saif went out of the way to ensure the authenticity of Sikh characters. She adds, "While sporting a turban, Saif would not even smoke."

Singh is Kinng catapulted the turbaned Sikh to the national consciousness. (R) A still from Love Aaj Kal. Mainstream heroes like Saif Ali Khan have stepped into the role of a Sikh gentleman and played it with aplomb

Of course, the makers are not always this sensitive. After all, as Sonu Sood, who played the lead villain in Singh is Kinng the blockbuster, says, "Cinema is, after all, the business of entertainment." Singh is Kinng, which catapulted the turbaned Sikh to the national consciousness, received a lot of flak for not getting the turban right. "Nevertheless," argues Manmohan Singh, "The mainstream film with turbaned Sikh as the hero, played by no less than heartthrob Akshay has actually set the ball rolling." In fact, he gives full marks to Bollywood for doing what even Punjabi cinema has failed to. That is having cast a turbaned Sikh as the lead.

But is it a trend that will last? No one can predict the future. While audiences gave thumbs up to Singh is Kinng and Love Aaj Kal, films like Rocket Singh and Heroes got a lukewarm response. Will I Am Singh set a new benchmark? Manmohan Singh feels that I Am Singh is a different film, made primarily to reiterate the Sikh identity and can’t be judged on the same parameters as regular commercial cinema where love angle and commercial razzmatazz reigns supreme.

Others like Dolly are non-committal and feel that the proof of the pudding lies in its eating and it is only post-release that one can know which way the cookie crumbles. Either way, everybody feels the need to have more and more films about Punjab and Sikhs. Besides, the opinion is unanimous — Bollywood has understood what Punjabiyat is all about and there is little chance of the clock turning back. So, in the future, Singh may or may not be king but Singh will certainly be Singh with due respect and honour.