Anusha Rizvi: ‘I was intently working for two years on a documentary about Sidhu’

Sidhu Moosewala and Anusha Rizvi

More than a decade after Peepli Live (2010), filmmaker Anusha Rizvi came out with her family dramedy The Great Shamsuddin Family. While it took her eight years to tell the story of the dysfunctional Shamsuddin family, she has been dabbling in multiple projects, including a large-scale documentary on the late Punjabi singer, rapper, and songwriter Sidhu Moosewala, who passed away in 2022.

"I've been working on multiple projects which have not seen the light of day for various reasons. Just before The Great Shamsuddin Family, I was intently working for two years on a documentary about Sidhu," shares Rizvi, adding that she also took time to spend with her seven-year-old son, "especially in his initial years for emotional stability," though the creative work never stopped.

What she envisioned as a film on Moosewala soon shifted course during research; the director realised that encompassing his life experiences in a short frame of time and fictionalising them convincingly would be nearly impossible. Instead, she decided to make it a multi-part documentary. "I think the Sidhu Moosewala story is a grand masala film, but this is real. From his growth in a small village to cycling miles to study, it is like the original Bollywood story of rise," she explains, admitting that the sheer volume of material from police narratives and others was not something she could write. "I cannot fictionalise the story and write it better than what I can show in real life."

Even filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, who collaborated with her in the process, was struck by the informaion she had assembled. Though the film remains unfinished, she is unwilling to let go of it. "I don't know when I'll be able to do it fully," she confesses. "But I hope I am able to because it's a story worth telling. Even Vishal Bhardwaj was riveted [by] just watching what was shrunk together to the point of Moosewala being killed."

While Rizvi is busy with multiple projects, including adapting Amitav Ghosh's Sea of Poppies, she still carves out time to revive and lead the Dastangoi Collective - an ensemble dedicated to the traditional Urdu art of storytelling. "We finished 20 years this year of reviving the art form. It's the kind of work in the nature of nation building. We bring out academics to the audiences and local people, so it is not only restricted to serious professors or lectures. I think that is my lifelong work," she says.

The rapper-singer Sidhu Moosewala

Born in 1993 in Moosa village, Punjab, Sidhu Moosewala rose from modest beginnings to become one of the most influential Punjabi musicians of his generation. Known for his distinct blend of folk, hip-hop, and raw storytelling, he quickly became a global sensation. His outspoken persona and political foray in 2021 made him a polarising yet iconic figure. In May 2022, at the age 28, his life was cut short in a targeted shooting that sparked nationwide grief and debate.