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Short film revists ’84 anti-Sikh riots

Docu on post-Indira assassination is based on the filmmaker’s real-life memories.

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He was barely nine years old when then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her bodyguards on October 31, 1984. But that fateful day when he and his family had to hide in their Delhi home to evade the anti-Sikh riots that followed, has left an indelible mark on budding filmmaker Kavanjit Singh.

“The memories of the ordeal were refreshed every time the country erupted in communal violence,” said Singh, who gave up a cushy IT job to study filmmaking at the Mumbai-based Whistling Woods International Film Institute.

And when he got a chance to make a film funded by his school, Singh wrote and directed Jagjeet, a 14-minute movie set against the backdrop of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

“It is easy to blame the government or the police for mismanagement every time there is a communal flare-up. But we seldom hold ourselves accountable for the safety of our neighbours and friends and forget that we can do our bit,” he says.
Jagjeet chronicles three days in the lives of two Sikh best friends following Gandhi’s assassination. While one is killed during the communal violence, the other survives by hiding but lives with the guilt of not having helped his friend.

The movie has done its rounds in the festival circuit and has also won awards for best film, best cinematography and best sound design.

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