The values of a society, the power structures, the oppression, even, exist in the subtext of the stories that we tell each other.
We recently premiered KAUR in Espanola, New Mexico, USA where the SikhNet offices are located. Check out this video to see the response to the animation.
It seems that many young Sikh girls don't have a visual role model. We chose to animate the Mai Bhago story, because she represents the Sikh ideals of bravery, spirituality, and equality. We also created a character named "Saibhang" to relate this example to a modern girl with her own social challenges.
Supreet Manchanda and Eileen Alden dreamt up this slick superhero as a way to combat the negative stereotypes about Sikhs that have been seeping into Western media. And with the help of artist Amit Tayal, Super Sikh is quickly becoming a reality.
If you told a regular secular American that the way to 100 million dollars was in this text, everyone would know Gurmukhi. People would be reading it as they commute to work, there would be blogs about it, online chats.
...I was a screenplay writer on the side, and he suggested that I consider making a Sikh character. My pension has always been for outside the box ideas...
Today, on Human Rights Day, we share this documentary to show you how your support helps us document abuses on the ground.
Now, for her second release, I Bow To You Waheguru (United Sound; January 20, 2015), Kaur continues her spiritually rich journey.
The theme of this song is religious bigotry - something that I, and many others, have experienced as Sikh Americans.