Desi Making Waves

By Elaine G. Flores

Out of the Ashes: Filmmaker Kavi Raz Finds Treasure Amidst Tragedy

In the aftermath of 9/11, filmmaker Kavi Raz feared for his father. Though the family is neither Arab nor Muslim, the Indian-born and British-raised Raz correctly assessed that the distinction would not register with vengeful hooligans emboldened by the anti-Muslim sentiment that plagued the United States after the terrorist attacks. Raz’s father, Bakhshish Singh Dhugga, a Sikh, wears the customary turban and has a long white beard. Just as he had feared, Raz’s parents were harassed during shopping trips to the mall, and kids targeted their home in Hayward, part of California’s Bay Area.

“He actually has a white picket fence in front of his house,” says Raz. “Local kids sprayed it with graffiti. He called the cops.” Though the fence was repainted, the vandals persisted. “It didn’t stop,” notes Raz, whose father eventually gave up on covering the graffiti. “It’s still there.”

Though understandably disturbed by the episode, Raz is relieved that his parents escaped violence. Such was not the case for Balbir Singh Sodhi. Four days after 9/11, he was gunned down in front of his family-owned Mesa, Arizona gas station. His killer Frank Roque, who mistook the native of Punjab, India for a Middle Easterner, received the death penalty. The sentence was overturned this past August, and reduced to life without parole.

The incident inspired Raz, who has been a Hollywood actor for more than 20 years with a list of credits including St. Elsewhere, Chicago Hope and NYPD Blue, to write The Gold Bracelet, a film about a Sikh family living in the wake of September 11th. Raz, who directed, produced and starred, is quick to note that his movie is not an account of the Arizona murder. “One of my fears was that I didn’t want the film to be about just that tragedy,” he explains. “I was careful not to make the film about him. It’s fictionalized.”

Kavi Raz and Arsh Singh, The Gold Bracelet. Directed by Kavi Raz.

Raz portrays Arjun Singh, a proud, industrious and religious family man, who left Punjab for a life in America. Arjun’s efforts to play matchmaker for his daughter pay off when she and her suitor fall in love. However, the joy surrounding their wedding is overshadowed by the national disaster.

Once he decided to proceed, the script quickly fell into place. “I wrote it in six days,” says Raz. That was the easy part. Raz struggled to secure financial backing. He was distressed to find no support from the Sikh community. His salvation came from two Hindu men: Inder Dadlani, a businessman and Bhikhubhai Patel, a hotelier. Along with Raz, they bankrolled the production.

Raz is puzzled as to why Sikhs did not endorse the movie. “I can’t understand it,” Raz says in his rich, melodious voice. “Maybe the Sikhs fear the way they’ll be portrayed.”

Raz, who trims his hair, is clean-shaven and does not wear a turban says, “I come from a Sikh family. I’m a practicing Sikh, but I’m not orthodox. From hardcore Sikhs, that may be part of the resistance. They may not feel I’ll be the proper voice. A prominent Sikh businessman in L.A. said, ‘How can he make a movie about Sikhs when he’s not a Sikh?’” The businessman, who Raz appealed to for post-production funding, also balked at the diverse cast, which includes Hindus and Muslims playing Sikhs and Ari Barak, a Jewish actor playing a Muslim. Raz recalls that the naysayer told him, “All actors who play Sikhs have to be Sikhs. I’m still facing that with the Sikh community. We’re doing screenings in the U.S. and Canada. We had a screening in Calgary; one Sikh came and there were only six or seven Indians in a packed house with a standing ovation. The ones who come out realize how monumental the film is.”

Raz notes that the Sikhs who do see The Gold Bracelet respond well. “When they come and see it, they’re floored by it and then I get the accolades.” That includes Raz’s father. “He was just blown away. By the end of it, he had tears in his eyes.”

If The Gold Bracelet was a labor of love, the period that followed the shooting of the film could be described as postpartum depression. Days that Raz admits were “one of the most difficult times ever.” The excitement of the shoot over, Raz was also in nearly incapacitating physical pain because of a herniated disk. “I popped so many pain pills. I felt like I was going to die,” he recalls. “I even started taking things out of my files that I didn’t want people to read [in the event of my death].”

Raz, who looks at the ordeal as a test from God, soldiered on and takes great pride in the result, which won acclaim after its first private screening last winter at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in Hollywood. The movie has been well received on the festival circuit. It took top prize at the Palm Beach International Film Festival. Raz hopes the film will have a wider release on the East and West coasts in February or March 2007.

“The underlying theme is hope. That’s how I am about myself. I always see the good in things. Even with my downs and I’ve had plenty, I think of how I can turn it around.” That attitude is reflected in the movie, which, though set against a somber backdrop, incorporates romance, humor and even an homage to Bollywood with an elaborate dance sequence.

Raz hopes audiences will be inspired by the film’s ultimate message of unity. “We’re all alike: We shed tears over the same things, we laugh at the same things. I hope my film finds a way to do that regardless of race, religion or culture. By finding acceptance in film, I hope we find acceptance with each other.”

For more information on The Gold Bracelet, check out: www.thegoldbracelet.com.

Elaine G. Flores is a feature writer for Soap Opera Digest, columnist for the St. Louis American and freelance writer. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and lives in New York.

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