Immigrant Seeks The 'Dream'

"First it was terrorists against Americans. Then, it was Americans against Americans," said Rana Singh Sodhi, in "A Dream In Doubt," a documentary screened last night at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.

Sodhi, a Sikh, left India for America, searching for the legendary "American dream." And as the film details, he found it-but at what cost?

The dream begins to crumble when his brother Balbir is gunned down by a crazed "patriot" in a pickup truck. And Sodhi finds himself facing a difficult question, the same question that "A Dream In Doubt" poses to the audience: when you look like America's enemy, is the dream worth the price?

And, through the horrific torment of prejudice, the fear spawned by the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., and the loss of a second brother in a similarly senseless death, Sodhi and his family arrive at a careful, inconclusive answer to that question.

The most compelling part of the documentary is Sodhi hard-working, diligent devotion to the American dream: the old dream, the one with a happy family in the house, two cars in the garage, and the right to go wherever, do whatever, and say whatever you want. He is in every way the ideal American, but he and other Sikhs feel the brunt of "patriotic" anger.

"You live your life, you're working, and somebody spits on you," Sodhi said. "This is not America."

The film features some brilliant moments, culled from a diverse pool of police footage, 911 calls, personal interviews and news reports. Particularly shocking is the moment when Balbir's killer drops to his knees and prays in the interrogation room, while the awkwardly heartwarming episode where Rana and his family introduce Sikhism to their children's elementary school class is charming in equal measure. The film is dark, certainly, showing a sharp contrast between America's profession of equality and the reality of those who consider themselves most American-but it ends on a powerfully uplifting note.

And that note is what we need to focus on, said Tami Yeager, director and producer of the film. In a question-and-answer session following the screening, he discussed the issues of prejudice brought up by Rana's story and what students can do to combat harmful beliefs. First and foremost, Yeager said, learn, and spread the message.

"[Hate crime] is still not being talked about, there's still not a rational dialog about it," Yeager said.

Preetmohan Singh, co-producer of the film, agreed, citing lack of knowledge about Sikhism specifically.

"For me, being a Sikh in America, you just don't see positive-or real-images of Sikhs in the media," said Singh.

But films like this aren't isolated incidents-they're representative of a larger push towards knowledge and free expression.

"What we've seen after 9/11- we've seen the Sikh community come together," said Singh, referring to the community's attempts at educating those around them, rather than becoming increasingly insular.

The film was sponsored by the Sikh Student Associaton, along with the Asian American Cultural Center, USG and a number of other student and off-campus organizations.

Harleen Chhabra, a 2nd-semester chemistry major and member of the SSA, emphasized the importance of educating students in particular-hence the screening.

"I don't think many students, as well as [the general populace], are aware of Sikhism in general," said Chhabra. "[The hate crime] was really tragic-after 9/11-we really had nothing to do with it. People just don't know about us- that's why it happened."

Despite the dearth of knowledge nationally, on the small scale, films like "A Dream In Doubt" are making a difference. Singh, when asked about Sodhi's reaction to the film being shown, smiled and said this, gesturing to the audience:

"He says, 'I've lost two brothers, but I've gained a hundred more.'"

Contact John Bailey at John.C.Bailey@UConn.edu