Private Project

Sanjha Punjab

LOGLINES

• Eight stories of migrant life in South Auckland for the Punjabis, a people who have been separated into different countries, India and Pakistan, for eight decades.

• In South Auckland, the Punjabis from India and Pakistan do the one thing they cannot do back home: they come together as a people with a long history of shared heritage and culture.

SYNOPSIS

Basharat writes a poem in the park and recites it to friends.
Friends gather to discuss Baba Najmi’s poetry.
Parminder hosts a radio show of Punjabis wanting the border softened.
Gurmeet drives to Gurdwara, Ali Shah drives to Masjid.
Ajit, Billa Ji, and Rajinder meet for chai and chat.
N. V. Singh and Asim show solidarity for migrants stuck offshore.
Amrit and Amrik sing folk, Nisar and Sukhbir sing Sufi.
Asim travels home, seeing the land of Punjab in a new light.

Eight stories combined into one film about Punjabis in South Auckland. The travelling narrative shows migrant Punjabi men from India and Pakistan restoring their cultural heritage and ancestral ties after eight decades of separation in their home countries.

  • Asim Mukhtar
    Director
  • Teena Brown Pulu
    Writer
  • Asim Mukhtar
    Producer
  • Rewi Amoamo
    Cinematography
  • Niko Meredith
    Cinematography
  • Basharat Ali Jan
    Key Cast
  • Satta Vairowalia
    Key Cast
  • Daljit Singh
    Key Cast
  • Gurmeet Singh Sarkaria
    Key Cast
  • Ajit Singh Randhawa
    Key Cast
  • N.V. Singh
    Key Cast
  • Amrik Singh
    Key Cast
  • Faisal Hayat Jappa
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature, Student
  • Genres:
    Realism, Non fiction, Hybrid Documentary, Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 9 minutes 27 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 5, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    30,000 NZD
  • Country of Origin:
    New Zealand
  • Country of Filming:
    New Zealand, Pakistan
  • Language:
    Panjabi
  • Shooting Format:
    35mm
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Auckland University of Technology
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Asim Mukhtar

Asim Mukhtar migrated in 2014 from Punjab, Pakistan to Auckland, New Zealand. From 2019 to 2024, he took up a practice-led PhD thesis in the Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Development at Auckland University of Technology, transitioning from photography to filmmaking as his artform. Sanjha Punjab is his doctoral film, the result of four-years creative research and screen production. Asim was awarded Muslim of the Year in 2019 at the New Zealand Muslim Awards. He has filmed and produced documentary videos in Punjabi for radio and internet. This is his first full-length film made in the style of hybrid documentary.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

This is a special film to me because it is grounded in my lived experience of being a migrant Punjabi male living in South Auckland. Beyond the militarised border of India and Pakistan, I have found the peace of mind and heart I have yearned for all my life. Here, Punjabis who were once divided into separate countries at the 1947 partition of British India, coexist side by-side peacefully, respectfully, and in harmony with the shared cultural values and mother tongue (Punjabi) of their ancestors. It was important that this film not only told my personal story but the collective story of migrant Punjabi men in South Auckland repairing relationships and rekindling language and heritage. This filmmaking experience will shape my future projects because it has taught me the value of telling your story through your people’s story: our lives are resilient and safer united – Sanjha Punjab!