IB flags spurt in Punjabi films on sensitive issues
The IB has flagged to the home ministry the spurt in production of Punjabi movies depicting issues emotive for Sikhs such as Operation Bluestar in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar in 1984 to anti-Sikh riots after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
“These films also portray erstwhile militants as saviours of Sikh community. While economic reasons are quite obvious, any perceptible impact of these films on the minds of young Sikh generation is yet to be noticed,” the IB report said.
Last three years have seen making of at least six such Punjabi films. While one film was released in 2013 and another, ‘Kaum De Heere’, could not get clearance from the Censor Board, four others will be released in coming months.
According to the report, the first movie released (on May 1, 2015) was ‘The Blood Street’ produced by Canada-based Jasbir Singh Boparai. It is on Sikh fam- ilies who allegedly faced police atrocities in the post-1984 period in Punjab after the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh body guards. The film got clearance from CBFC after several cuts.
Other movies which are in pipeline for release are ‘Jinda and Sukha’, ‘Patta Patta Singhan Da Vairi’ and ‘Insaaf Di Udeek - Delhi 1984’, the report added.
‘Jinda and Sukha’ is based on the lives of Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha who killed General AS Vaidya who was the Army chief during Operation Bluestar.