Shaheed Nanak Singh’s story has to be told, says filmmaker

Tribune News Service

Neha Saini

Amritsar, November 14

Almost 100 documentaries to his credit, he goes looking for stories that inspire, break the monotony that defines filmmaking and give his audience more than a little perspective. Ajay Chitnis, who has been making biographical docu-dramas for past 18 years, likes his stories raw, real and relatable. “We should celebrate real heroes. People who have managed to defy odds and contribute not just in their personal success but also in building a nation,” he says.

Chitnis is in Amritsar for the first-ever screening of his latest docu-drama based on the life of Nanak Singh, the freedom fighter. Nanak Singh was born in 1903 in Rawalpindi, now in Pakistan and was a prominent Sikh leader in the nationalist movement. A compatriot of Saifuddin Kichlew and several leaders of freedom movement, Nanak Singh or Shaheed Nanak Singh was among most significant propagators of communal harmony in India. The docu drama features actor Aditi Govitrikar and Arvinder Chamak as Shaheed Nanak Singh and his wife Sardarni Harbans Kaur.

“His story had to be told. He was a martyr, who vehemently opposed partition of India and as a result was a marked man, who was assassinated while saving lives of 600 school at DAV school, Multan. I got introduced to his life whne I met his youngest son, Dr Raminder or Rami Ranger, who is a prominent businessman in UK and also a significant political figure. He told me about how his father and mother’s respective journey during freedom movement and partition of India. Later, I research and used the documented facts in the biography of Shaheed Nanak Singh to make this docu drama,” said Chitnis. The 25-minute docu drama is narrated from the perspective of Sardarni Harbans Kaur, wife of Nanak Singh, who was left alone to bring five of their children after NanaK Singh’s demise.

Arvinder Chamak, Amritsar based actor and poet, who essays the role of Shaheed Nanak Singh, said, “A statue was erected in his memory at Ranjit Avenue a few years ago. But sadly, not much is known about him. People often confuse Shaheed Nanak Singh with novelist Nanak Singh,” he said.

His wife Sardarni Harbans Kaur was a woman of conviction, who raised five children as single mother. “All their children went on to serve the country in different fields and it’s a matter of extreme intrigue for me to tell the story of such a gritty and brave woman through my story,” said Chitnis.

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