A child in Fremont, California, poses next to a poster of his hero. Similarly below, in third photo from bottom, Japman Kaur and Triman Singh replicate another Vismaad poster.
Film/Stage
They Need Our Help
by GURMEET KAUR
Thanks to the buffoonery of Bollywood and a complete image assassination by our own Punjabi Cinema, we Sikhs have finally realized that the only way to counter an unacceptable expression of thought is to create a more powerful one - coming straight from our heart. ‘Creativity' and not ‘protest' is the way to go.
It has started to sink into even the old fashioned minds that the media is the most effective tool for the preservation of our history, culture and values, and to restore our true image; that due to lack of an effective Sikh media, we have suffered immensely; that history has and will always be written by those who have an effective means to communicate.
Thanks to this awakening, creativity is starting to be inspired and a whole new generation has determined to change it. In the last decade, many efforts have changed the course by carving small but significant niches in the Sikh media arena. Be it Waris Singh Ahluwalia aspiring to mark the acting scene in Hollywood, Ish Kaur fighting the Punjabi big-screen boys, or documentarians such as university student Valarie Kaur or high school student Angad Singh educating post 9/11 America how to open its mind; they all are striving for a common goal - for the world to see the Sikhs for who they truly are.
When you start to talk about the positive Sikh media, the name of Vismaad whose vision has led to a series of high quality animations around Sikh history - emerges as a shining star.
Vismaad has in the past six years given us three wonderful animations starting with Sahibzadey whose adorable signature painting became an icon in many a household ... and a computer wallpaper too.
Rise of the Khalsa evokes the justice-seeker in every Sikh heart.
And the beautiful Sundari that awakens the sleeping spirituality in all of us.
Recently we had a chance to screen the latest of its creation in our city of Atlanta in Georgia, U.S.A. - "Bhai Taru Singh".
Until now, we all know Bhai Taru Singh from the classic painting by Kirpal Singh, depicting him more or less as a middle aged man. The image invariably comes before our eyes when we recite the lines in the ardaas, honouring the martyrs 'who gave their scalps but not their hair' - jinnah singhaan singhniyaan ney dharam heyt sees dittey ... khoprriyaan luhaahyiaan ...!
But after watching the film, you will see young Taru Singh who was martyred at the age of only 24, through the eyes of a younger sister, Taro, his only Sikh companion growing up, and the one he would leave to fend for herself after walking the path of martyrdom.
And through the eyes of his mother who raised him as a Khalsa, knowing well the odds of his survival as he achieved his prime sporting its visible identity.
And through the eyes of the residents of the village Poohla - Hindus and Muslims, men and women, elderly and children alike - who revered him as a saint and protected him from the evil shadows of Lahore as long as they could.
It took Vismaad eight months to get the right image of Bhai Taru Singh - ‘The True Saint' - along with what we already know of him - ‘The Fearless Soldier'. You will fall in love with the imagery.
From now onwards, I know that whenever I will hear the name 'Bhai Taru Singh', a kind face and a melodious voice will warm my heart. A life of devotion and service and a death of dignity will enrich my spirit.
Through this movie, he becomes your child, your brother, your life-hero who lives each moment as a true servant of humanity, the lover of life even in death, which he willingly invites as yet another extension of his life - playfully, meditatively and inspiringly.
We see him as he walks to Lahore with the full knowledge that it's a one-way journey, accompanied only by a blessing and the desire that he serve Sikhi to the last breath, with his articles of faith ... and his faith ... intact.
He becomes an eternal testament to the unshorn hair as an inseparable part of the Sikh identity; our connection to the Guru.
The filmmaker's dedication to revealing Sikh history in its full glory is reflected in all of his movies. But by bringing this story to the screen, his desire to underscore the importance of unsorn hair to a Sikh remarkably succeeds.
While the third movie was being completed, a widely circulated image of a barber showing off the chopped off locks of a Sikh boy was featured in ‘Outlook' magazine in India in an article entitled "Gobind's shorn flock". The everyday reality in Punjab, when visualized in that article, stung the hearts of many, including the film maker and Bhai Taru Singh came as his response to that searing image.
The animation quality is pretty good, considering that Vismaad goes with 8-12 drawings or frames per second (instead of the standard 24 frames) in order to squeeze into the budget of under $300,000, as opposed to a Hollywood animation that would easily run into tens of millions of dollars. Yes, that's what it takes for them to produce one 90-minute feature-length film.
35 full-time employees worked for 18 months to bring out this beautiful and inspiring film from their animation studio based in Mohali, Punjab.
The script, dialogues and usage of gurbani and Punjabi is inspiring and educational. There is a lot of research that has gone into the accurate portrayal of the man and his times. The voice-over artists for all the lead roles in Visamaad films have been extremely talented and have brought all the roles to life in their true imagery.
The graphic artists and animators come largely from West Bengal and Orrisa, so to get them to reflect the true image of Sikhs and the landcape of Punjab is a challenge. To foster local media talent, Vismaad has started to train young Punjabis in this art and media form. The details in the movie from the little prop artifacts such as the rugs, pots and pans, to the long shots of the village take you right into the heart of 18th century Punjab, capturing its breathtaking colours and atmosphere.
Matching the quality of graphics is the playback music. Atul Sharma as a music director is simply brilliant. From a customized traditional Punjabi folksong, "Ghori", to the shabads and the heroic ballads - ‘vaars' - the music is so exquisitely done that you wouldn't want to leave the screening without owning a sound track of the movie. The voices of Jaspinder Narula, Bhai Satwinder Singh and Tigerstyle leave you moved, teary eyed and charged.
From Sahibzadey to Bhai Taru Singh, one can see that the quality of the films keeps improving. There are a few places Vismaad could do a bit better, though. The flavour of dramatization that appeals to a western/ educated audience is a bit different and could be adjusted. The scenes could cut from one to other quicker, leaving some thinking to the audience and the songs can embody some story-telling for the sake of brevity and audience engagement.The story of Mughal atrocities is getting a bit repetitious, so Vismaad can insert a break by moving a bit closer to modern history.
The movie is not released for DVD sale yet and Vismaad has carefully chosen a fee based screening model to recoup at least some of the losses they incurred with the DVD release of previous movies.
All of their previous films were hacked, packaging duplicated and widely sold by large scale businesses to make tons of money. "Make Money?" - They would beg to disagree. The pirates claim they were doing a seva by copying the expensive DVDs priced at $10 and distributing them free to the sangat for the purpose of "parchar".
It isn't seva. It is killing the industry.
Big DVD shops in U.S.A. and Canada that function under the guise of "non-profit" and "seva" have participated in this theft, which has cost losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, with unknown profits to themselves.
There is no doubt that we have been longing for our films made by our own. We agree that Bollywood will not do it for us; Hollywood couldn't care less. We also know that we have money to spend on movies and entertainment. Some of the latest Harbhajan Mann's films fetched more money than contemporary Hindi films, the audience being largely Punjabis and Sikhs in the diaspora and back in Punjab and India.
So why do we disrespect the evolving industry that portrays the right Sikh image by choking it in its nascent stage?
I realize I probably should not be comparing a Punjabi live-action film costing millions, with a low-budget Sikh animation film - but if we don't show these projects our full support and enthusiasm, how will we get anywhere ?
Surprisingly, due to the personal commitment of the creator, director and co-founder of Vismaad, S. Sukhwinder Singh, and the support of visionaries worldwide, the company is truly emerging as a film house and studio that is here to stay.
If you take the initiative to screen ‘Bhai Taru Singh' in your city; Vismaad will gladly work out an arrangement with you and guide you through the process. Sukwinder Singh is on his North America tour so if you want to be inspired as well as strengthen this ligththouse of our media, please contact him.
Don't wait for the DVD release. A group screening with the sangat, followed by a ‘Behind the Scenes" presentation by the Director, will leave you inspired, trust me.
[Please go to www.BhaiTaruSingh.com for more info.]
February 18, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Mlle. S (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.), February 18, 2010, 1:16 PM.
As a non-Sikh watching this animated film, I was so inspired by a man who willingly faced death rather than give up his faith. As Gurmeet pointed out, the character of Bhai Taru Singh was perfectly animated - he gives off an air of peace and calm in the face of certain torture and death. I wish the film could be dubbed into English so children who don't know Punjabi and are too young to read the subtitles quickly could also see the film. Gurmeet is correct about the media - the more positive images people see of Sikhs, the more they will be educated. This is true for all minority groups. When a white film character is evil, nobody thinks, "All white people are evil." But when a Sikh (or a Jewish/ Black/ Mexican person, etc.) is portrayed as corrupt or evil or stupid or greedy or - insert adjective here - that is the image that stays with the public. I can give you a positive example of how media changes mental constructs: after viewing Angad Singh's documentary, "Roots and Wings", all of my students wrote letters to Angad. Many wrote along the following lines: "I used to associate turbans with terrorism, but now when I see a man in a turban, I will know he might be a Sikh, and I that I shouldn't be afraid." The students also said it was the first time they had heard of Sikhi and didn't realize that kids in turbans weren't Hindus and Muslims. Finally, they said they were inspired by seeing a teenager brave enough to stand up for his faith in such a public way. I recommend a Bhai Taru Singh screening in your gurdwara or at an interfaith gathering. Teens, take some of your non-Sikh friends along. They will love it! Gurmeet, thank you for the review and thank you for reminding everyone how important it is to educate those around us!
2: Hardeep Singh (Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.), February 18, 2010, 2:59 PM.
Gurmeet" Beautiful craftsmanship of words to depict and quantify a very genuine and profound experience! Further, thanks for highlighting the issue of 'image assassination', which has hurt us the most and devalued the great sacrifices made by our ancestors. Media, which was invented to relay beneficial information to the masses, has been also used by vested interests as a weapon to negate any individual's or community's image and contribution. We need to be cognizant of the media's potential and weakness. Thanks to Vismaad for their visionary and pioneering effort.
3: Irvinder Singh Babra (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), February 18, 2010, 4:43 PM.
Gurmeet Kaur has been able to capture the rise of the Sikh/ Punjab/ Khalsa spirit in her new article. The new Sikh prominence is mult-imedia savvy and will further prevail. Handle with care, though.
4: Jagvinder Singh (Leicester, United Kingdom ), February 19, 2010, 11:30 AM.
Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh!
5: Gurjender Singh (Maryland, U.S.A.), February 19, 2010, 11:49 AM.
Vismaad is doing a wonderful job of educating Sikh masses with our history which we have neglected. On the other hand, we are copying DVD and distributing it and calling it as seva (free service). It is not seva, it is killing the institution, Vismaad, which has spent a lot of money producing the DVD - and needs to garner funds from this project to finance future films. This is very wrong concept being adopted by some in the community that all Sikh-related material should be free. When Sikh masses can spend a lot of money on regular movies and pop-music CDs and DVDs, why and how is it that they want religious CDs or DVDs free. Please wake up and buy the original Vismaad DVDs to support them and this nascent industry.
6: Kulvindar Kaur (Evans, Georgia, U.S.A.), February 20, 2010, 10:10 AM.
I have not seen the movie yet but I hope to, very soon. These animations on Sikh history are very important because our children and their families can see how Sikhs never give up, even in the face of extreme tyranny. I agree with Gurmeet Kaur's sentiments. Chardi kalaa!
7: Jasbir Singh Kaberwal (Fresno, California, U.S.A.), April 07, 2010, 12:56 AM.
Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki fateh! Sarbat da bhalla!
8: Sukhdev Singh (Dehradun, India), September 26, 2010, 1:37 PM.
Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ji ki Fateh.