AMU Asian New Classics

Following the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, angry mobs spent a week attacking and killing Sikhs. When their anger subsided, over 4,000 Sikhs were dead and over 50,000 were left homeless. AMU is a powerful examination of a time and on event the Indian government continues to downplay.

When a young Indian-American woman returns to Indio to visit her family, she uncovers secrets from the past which force her to answer some difficult questions: What was her family’s involvement, if any, in the brutal massacre of the Sikhs that took place around the time of her birth? What’s more important-uncovering that truth or maintaining her relationship with her family?

Shonali Bose wields a masterful touch as she takes the audience on a cinematic roller coaster. The horrific wasting of innocent lives resonates as a powerful indictment against governmental complacency and cover-up. Current political developments in lndia and elsewhere only enhance the relevance of this stirring film.