Sikh martyr on screen
Sheeba Singh

Director Bakhtawar Singh and producer Sukhwinder Singh of animated Punjabi  film Bhai Taru Singh

As Bakhtawar Singh, director and critic, welled up, all he could say was: "If only we all could be a little more like Bhai Taru Singh`85 if only we could practice Sikhism the way he has been instilling in ourselves, the same qualities, things would be different."

Bhai Taru Singh, an animated Punjabi film, is being premiered at different places this week. One of its shows was organised at Shivalik Public School, Mohali, on Sunday last. It had over three-quarters of the seats in the airconditioned auditorium filled with anticipated individuals and eager learners.

It is the story of a great Sikh martyr who suffered so much at the hands of tyrannical rulers of that time to uphold the values and teachings of the Sikh Gurus.

Sukhwinder Singh, screenwriter and producer, claimed this was just another way to give back to the community, and educate the youth — while the opportunity persists — about Sikh history. "A song from one of our earlier movies was admired in Vancouver by a young student who sang it in his school," he recalled.

The tradition to inculcate values has evolved from spreading history through word of mouth and schoolbooks to digital media. Things are no longer the way they used to be. With the help of digital media, both Sukhwinder Singh and Bakhtawar Singh assert that the knowledge and culture will be kept intact to a much higher degree. "A picture is worth a thousand words," Sukhwinder Singh smiled. "So imagine how much this movie is worth."

The movie will be holding showings in Canada, France, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia as well, in addition to other parts of the globe. Serving as a means to connect more people, young and old, to Gurbani, the hopes of success B. Singh and S. Singh hold are much different. B. Singh informs that all the workers, including he himself and S. Singh, are paid. For their last movie, on Mata Sundri, they suffered a loss of about $ 1 lakh. However, losses have never been a good enough cause to stop making such motivation movies. " It is just our way of giving back to the community," they both agreed.

Inspiration lurked throughout the theatre, both before and after the movie, and applause roared, paving way for further motivation for the team members of the movie. It is definitely safe to say that the hopes of awakening the Sikh in each one of us are alive. Besides, the inspiration to want to know more of the struggles faced by the great people who made it possible for us to be what we are today invigorated even further. Both Bakhtawar Singh and Sukhwinder Singh have done their job well.