After a controversy erupted over the screening of a documentary on Sidhu Moosewala, the BBC World Service on Wednesday released it on YouTube ahead of its scheduled screening in Mumbai in the afternoon.
The documentary has been released on Moosewala’s birth anniversary, even as his father has filed a petition in a Mansa court in Punjab, seeking a stay on its screening.
The family is likely to release an extended play of his songs on Wednesday.Moosewala was born on June 11, 1993.
The BBC has released two episodes of the documentary, featuring some of Moosewala’s old friends, a few journalists, and two senior police officers from Punjab and Delhi. The video also includes an audio interview with gangster Goldy Brar, who is accused of orchestrating Moosewala’s murder at Jawahar Ke village in Mansa district on May 29, 2022, and is alleged to be the mastermind behind it.
The first episode of the documentary, titled ‘The Killing Call’, focuses on Moosewala’s early life, rise to fame, and the controversies surrounding his career, while the second part covers his murder
The BBC World Service, in its YouTube video description, wrote: “On 29 May 2022, Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala was murdered by hired hitmen who followed his car, shot him through the windscreen, and left him to die. As news of the killing spread across India and around the world, a gangster named Goldy Brar claimed responsibility for the hit. But three years later, no one has been convicted of this murder, the motives remain murky, and Goldy Brar is still on the run. BBC Eye Investigations has been talking to some of the people closest to Sidhu Moose Wala, tracing his rise from obscurity to stardom, finding out how he made enemies of India’s most feared gang, and asking why they wanted him dead.”
It adds, “It’s a story that takes us from the villages of rural India to the hip-hop scene of eastern Canada, from the turbulent history of Punjab to the contested politics of modern India, and from the shadowy world of organised crime to a chilling phone call with the fugitive gangster who says he ordered the hit. Based on hours of unseen archive and exclusive access to Sidhu’s friends and musical collaborators, the film features voices that have never spoken to the media before.”
The court of Civil Judge (Senior Division) had on Tuesday adjourned the matter to June 12.
Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh’s counsel, Satinder Pal Singh Mittal, told The Tribune on Tuesday, “The matter is now sub judice. We are hopeful that the documentary will not be made public.”