Vishavjit Singh, renowned for his public persona as Captain America, has collaborated with director Ryan Westra to present a Sikh character adorned with a turban and beard, fighting against bigotry, intolerance, and stereotypes associated with the American identity. Despite being the sole U.S.-born member of his family, Singh's journey highlights the struggle he faced in fully embracing his identity in this manner.
‘American Sikh’ aims to enhance diversity in contemporary media and challenge preconceptions about the appearance of an American and a superhero. The film, supported by Executive Producers Guneet Monga Kapoor, the 2023 Academy Award winner for "Elephant Whisperer," and Vikas Khanna, recognised as one of Vanity Fair's top ten chefs, holds significance in pushing for broader representation.
In an interview with Asian Voice, Vishavjit and Ryan share the details about their movies.
About the inspiration, collaboration and striking a balance
American Sikh is making history as the first ever film to tell the story of a turban-wearing American to premiere at a major festival and stands out in its quality. In just 10 minutes, the film covers Vishavjit’s lifelong struggle to find acceptance, an emotional rollercoaster that begins with a genocidal massacre in India and ends with redemption in a superhero costume. To craft a narrative that does so much in such a short amount of time, as well as reach such a high level of artistry in its aesthetic, Vishavjit and Ryan worked for almost 4 years on this project.
Vishavjit and Ryan initially worked on a live-action documentary together in 2014 about Vishavjit’s Sikh Captain America persona. Ryan shared the inspiration stating, “On the streets of New York, I got to see first-hand just how differently people reacted and treated Vishavjit in and out of his superhero costume. Overwhelmingly positive in costume and overwhelmingly negative out of costume - it was shocking to see.
“I was and still am in awe of Vishavjit’s simple and fun approach to addressing complex and challenging issues. So, in 2019, I reached out to Vishavjit again asking if he would be interested in doing a more in-depth film about his life and work, one that would share 40 years in 10 minutes of animation.
He also stated that “Telling someone’s life story in just 10 minutes is incredibly difficult, especially when that person has had a journey as incredible as Vishavjit’s. The goal was always to communicate the heart of Vishavjit’s story as simply and honestly as possible.
“The process of finding and organising those essential puzzle pieces involved editing and re-editing 30 different versions of the film over a period of 18 months. Determined to make the most compelling film possible, Vishavjit and I relied heavily on friends and family to review and give thoughts on the strength of each edit, and the importance of each moment.”
On the other hand, according to Vishavjit, there is always a fine balance between being true to the real-life story being told on the screen and using powerful storytelling elements to accentuate the film-watching experience. About striking that balance, he said, “There are few scenes in the film where real-life moments have been strategically placed to maximise user experience but staying true to the essence of the (Vishavjit’s) journey.”
The aim was to portray the authentic story
Vishavjit’s story is a perfect example of the truth that we are all a work in progress. His journey is powered by vulnerabilities in the face of abuse and tragedies. He found a way to channel these vulnerabilities towards a path empowered by kindness, compassion and ultimately what we call courage to go out on a limb.
Vishavjit’s real-life story is centred around the tensions and breakthroughs around identity and representation. In order to ensure cultural sensitivity and authenticity in portraying characters and themes, the team made sure the visual elements were as true to his Sikh/Punjabi/American identity from the layers of the turban to the hair sticking out of the turban and the kara (bracelet) on his wrist, just to name a few.
Vishavjit said, “We really made it a point to reflect the story as authentically as possible knowing that his own beliefs and practices varied throughout his life, at times drastically. Some certain labels and expressions can be misconstrued or hit a raw nerve but our goal was to remain as close as possible to his in-the-moment perspective.”
