Satinder: We envisioned it to be an educational film with a social message, that would help both non-Sikhs and younger Sikhs learn more about the philosophy and values behind Sikhism, beyond the rituals.

Harpreet: As a mother of four children, three of whom are girls, I also wanted to ensure that people learn more about Sikhism’s tenets of equality – you never see a shrinking Sikh woman.

Zara: The filming experience was great, apart from being able to travel to many amazing places with my family, I was able to visit many cultural and important landmarks and religious monuments. A moment that particularly captures my heart was visiting the Sikh temple in America. The Sikh temple had a shooting there. Many people were killed and shot down. This spoke to me as I was able to talk to victims and witnesses, so it was really eye-opening. I learned about how people discriminate against different religions and Sikh people are often mistaken as Islamic terrorists. I took away a lot from the film as I learnt a lot about myself,  my family's roots and what is means to be the religion I am. I feel more comfortable with myself and I feel like I have gained an understanding of my religion as a whole. 

Satinder: We were thrilled! The UN Association Film Festival is among the oldest and most prestigious documentary-only festivals in the US, and possibly even the world. For the judging committee to choose our film for this year’s line-up out of a pool of almost 700 entrants, was a big coup. We always hoped that Under The Turban would have a very diverse audience, and this is a huge step towards realizing that dream.