"The Reunion" is a short film written, directed, and produced by Angad Bhai and the Russell Brothers. The film tells a story about two friends who share common background and reunite after several years of being apart. One is a Sikh (played by Kunal Shah) who has cut his hair after being brutalized during a hate crime, and the other (played by Angad Bhai) has kept his hair since birth. Their dialogue deals with issues Sikhs face when trying to assimilate into modern American society, while maintaining their cultural and religious heritage.
The film contains commentary on Sikhism directed both at Sikhs and non-Sikhs. And while the characters take positions in accordance to their subjective realities, I hope that certain universal truths come across. Additionally, my intention in making this film was to educate the audience about an issue that is thought about far more than it is talked about.
Sikhs have only a superficial presence in western media. Yes, we have Waris Alhuwalia (who has acted in Wes Anderson and Spike Lee films) and Guru Singh (who acts in the sitcom Outsourced). But these actors have almost no creative control over how their characters are depicted. Whether they are treated as multi-faceted characters or as mere novelties is not up to them, or to the larger Sikh populace.
Sikh Coalition and SALDEF write letters to NBC, ABC, etc., and lobby Congress whenever there is a depiction of a Sikh on television that is harmful to the Sikh community. But I believe an other effective way to root out harmful depictions of Sikhs in media is to depict Sikhs (with respect to how they perceive themselves, how others perceive them, their hopes and fears) ourselves by making and distributing films that we write, produce, and act in. How we are perceived by the world should be up to us, not to some network or studio executive whose understanding of Sikhs is, at best, intellectual and never experiential.
Once we make our own films about us, the public will decide if our work is educational or unhelpful, entertaining or boring. But whether we succeed or fail, the important thing is that we created art faithful to our own realities and consciences, and God could not ask for more.
Currently, I am working with the Russell Brothers on a web series "Sikhs in the City". It revolves around a Sikh American's experiences living in New York, and examines them in a humorous way that all Sikhs can identity with, and all non-Sikhs can learn from. If you are interested in supporting films that try to depict what it's like to be a Sikh American in an honest way, please support "Sikhs in the City" by donating through Paypal.
Angad Bhai
Angad Bhai (right) graduated from Cornell University with degrees in English and Economics. He currently lives in New York city, where he is a special education teacher at a NYC public school. He also collaborates with film production houses as a writer, director, and occasional actor.
Jacob and Ethan Russell (left) own and operate Russell Brothers Company LLC, a Brooklyn based digital production company. They are a collaborative duo consisting of Director and Director of Photography. http://www.russellbroscompany.com
"The Reunion" will be screened at the Sikh Film Festival in Yuba City.
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| Cast and crew of "The Reunion" debuting their film at the 2010 Sikhlens Film Festival in Orange, CA. From right to left: Jacob Russell, Angad Bhai, Ethan Russell, and Kunal Shah. | |
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| BEHIND THE SCENES SHOTS: The Crew & Others | |
If you want to support Angad you can make a donation which will help him with the costs of making this film and help with his new film Sikh in the City.
If you liked The Reunion film, and would like to see more projects from the filmmakers, please support them so they can get their next project off the ground ("Sikh in the City"). It’s a web series documenting the everyday experiences, both mundane and strange, of an American born Sikh who lives in New York City. Filming in NYC is expensive, so they need all the support they can get.
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