Main News Page

Gaurav Malani, TNN | Nov 10, 2011, 12.45PM IST

Puneet Issar says his film is the first to see the post 9/11 scenario from a Sikh point of view and endorses Guru Gobind Singh's preaching.

Actor-director Puneet Issar, more popularly known for his Duryodhan act in the 80s TV series Mahabharat, is ready with his next film after Salman Khan's Garv. "My film 'I Am Singh' is set in a post 9/11 scenario in US and highlights how innocent people turned victims of racism", says Issar.

With a post 9/11 setting and a title that proclaims 'I Am Singh' demanding respect for the clan, the first thing that crosses your mind is does the film share any similarities with Shah Rukh Khan's ' My Name is Khan'? Issar defends, "My Name is Khan saw the post 9/11 scenario from a Muslim perspective. In fact all films dealing with the post 9/11 conflict - whether New York, Kurbaan or Khuda Kay Liye only showed how Muslims were victimized. My film sees it from the Sikh point of view, which has never been shown in any film till date. I Am Singh is primarily about mistaken identities that led to racism post the 9/11 attacks".

Elaborating further he says, "Sikh is a 500 year old community and they have been living in US for the past 114 years. Yet the Sikhs were mistaken to be Arabs in the post 9/11 scenario and beaten up.

Doesn't this sound bizarre? I mean Sikhs and Arabs are as different as chalk and cheese. And that is what I have attempted to show in this film. It talks about the turban issue".

From making an action-masala (Garv) to a film on a social theme, Puneet Issar says, "The film is inspired from real events but I have tried to make it like an entertainer and not like any documentary".

And what is the broader message that the film conveys? Issar says, "Guru Gobind Singh had written the line manas ki jaat sabe eko pehchaan bo, which means all human beings are equal and bound by only
one religion - of humanity. At a broader level, 'I Am Singh' is an anti-racism film. From Australia, London, US to Canada and even within our country, racism has become a global issue today".