With "Mary Kom" filmmaker Omung Kumar directing a biopic based on Sarabjit Singh, the sister of the Indian prisoner, who died after a brutal attack in a Pakistani jail in 2013, today said that she hopes the film captures the plight of prisoners lodged in various jails across the border
With "Mary Kom" filmmaker Omung Kumar directing a biopic based on Sarabjit Singh, the sister of the Indian prisoner, who died after a brutal attack in a Pakistani jail in 2013, today said that she hopes the film captures the plight of prisoners lodged in various jails across the border.
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"I hope the biopic will highlight the plight of Indian prisoners lodged in various jails in Pakistan," said Dalbir Kaur, who struggled for years to get her brother out of the Pakistani prison. He died following an attack on him by jail inmates in April 2013 in a Lahore prison.
Sarabjit was convicted of terrorism and spying by a Pakistani court and sentenced to death in 1991 but the government had stayed his execution for an indefinite period in 2008.
His sister and family started a campaign for his release saying he was the victim of mistaken identity and had inadvertently strayed across the border in an inebriated state.
"I know the film is being made on a sensitive subject as it also involves two neighbouring countries, but the reality should come out. The plight of our prisoners in Pakistani prisons needs to be highlighted.
"I wish that once the film is released, it becomes a huge success. Even if one prisoner is released from Pakistani jail, I will think that 23 years of my struggle to secure the release of my brother, who could not return to his native land alive, has been successful," Dalbir Kaur, who hails from Bhikhiwind in Amritsar, told PTI over phone.
"When I was fighting to secure Sarabjit's release, I wanted that a film should be made on him so that the issue gets the world's attention and people and the government across the border also understands the facts as they stand. We had a chat with Subhash Ghai on this about three years back, but then the unfortunate event took place and we lost Sarabjit."
She said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should watch the film once it is released.
When questioned if any names had been shortlisted, Dalbir said, "Omung Kumar is currently in Malaysia. He told me telephonically that the actress who will play my role will be finalised very soon."
While names of actresses like Sonakshi Sinha, Kangana Ranuat, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra are cropping up in the media, Dalbir said she made no demands about the casting.
"It is the prerogative of the director. I have left it to him. I am confident that he will make the right choice. My only concern is that reality should be potrayed in the film, which I have been assured of. People should know about the issue and this film will show the kind of person that Sarabjit was and what happened with him," she said.
The film, which will be produced by writer-actor-turned producer Zeishan Quadri, will go on floors in October this year and will be shot majorly in Punjab.
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