Film on legendary Sikh warrior released

CHANDIGARH - The Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the mini-parliament of Sikh religion, Wednesday released a one-hour telefilm “Baba Banda Singh Bahadar” to pay tribute to the legendary warrior.

The telefilm, made to mark the 300th anniversary of Bahadar’s Sirhind Fateh Divas (win) in May, was released by Gurbachan Singh, jathedar (head priest) of Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion.

This is for the first time that a live character has been allowed to play the role of a prominent personality from Sikh history.

“Through this one-hour film, we have taken the heroics of one of the greatest Sikh warriors to the people and showcased the glorious history of the Sikhs to the world. We are releasing this movie on TV channels in various countries like the US, Canada, the UK and Australia,” Harjit Singh Ricky, writer and director of this film, told IANS.

Baba Banda Singh Bahadar was the closest general of Sikh Guru Gobind Singh. With only 25 soldiers, he had begun his journey from Nanded in Maharashtra (west India) to Punjab (in the north) to end the misery of people under Muslim tyrant Wazir Khan, the then governor of Punjab province.

“He raised an army of volunteers on the way. He was a born leader and master strategist. I had done nearly two-year research before writing the script,” stated Ricky.

The shooting of the telefilm was done in various villages of Punjab’s Mohali district.

“We want the film to inspire the Sikh youths to shun vices like drug addiction and follow the tenets of Sikhism in its true spirit. We are very happy as this movie has come out really well. I am confident that Sikhs worldwide will watch this film and get inspired by the sacrifices made by their forefathers,” jathedar Gurbachan Singh told reporters here.