Nitty-Gritty Punjab Police

CN: This program contains explicit depiction or mention of physical, psychological or sexual violence. I document my time with a washed-up dishonest constable and his troop of two, in this self-reflexive re-imagining of a police documentary. After the death of both my grandfathers I returned to ‘Jalandhar’, where this film is set and also where I was born, with the idea of making a film about the temptations of law enforcement in modern-day India. But very quickly I was overwhelmed by a magnificent sense of grief. And then a thought struck me: a documentary can be about many different things but can it also be about a feeling? Can it represent the incomprehensible and abstract quality of grief? As I reflected on these thoughts while gathering raw material on the Punjab Police, it only felt right to insert myself and my family into this dynamic of cruelty and exploitation.

  • Duration: 12 Min.
  • Countries: India
  • Languages: Panjabi
  • Subtitles: English
  • Production year: 2021
  • Premiere: Europe Premiere

  • Director: Kabir Mehta
  • Production: Prayas Deepti, Kabir Mehta
  • Music: Udit Duseja