Independent Lens: A Dream in Doubt

Tuesday, May 20 at 10 p.m.

A story of immigrant survival, Independent Lens: A Dream in Doubt, airing Tuesday, May 20 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV 21 (cable 11) and WXXI-HD (cable 1011 and DT 21.1), focuses on Sikh Americans living in Phoenix, Arizona in a close-knit community of families who experienced a wave of frightening hate crimes in the aftermath of 9/11. Rana Singh Sodhi, a 36-year-old Indian immigrant, finds his life forever altered by the 9/11 terror attacks, not because he knew any victims of the attack, but because his turban and beard became symbols of the terrorists who attacked America. Rana’s eldest brother, Balbir—who also was bearded and wore a turban—was America’s first post-9/11 hate crime murder victim, gunned down at his gas station by a man who claimed he was rooting out a terrorist. Terrence Howard hosts.

As if one murder was not enough, Rana’s next-eldest brother, Sukhpal, was shot and killed in mysterious circumstances less than a year later. The events captured in A Dream in Doubt show the almost daily horrors members of the Sikh community live with as misunderstood Americans. Yet Rana relies on his belief in the American values of freedom, self-reliance, equality and protection of the weak—values that mirror Sikh teachings—to carry him through injustices.

By following Rana’s attempts to insure that justice is served in his brothers’ murders, A Dream in Doubt tells a uniquely personal story of tragedy, family connection, community and an American Dream that is in danger of slipping away. In the end, this moving portrait of one man’s odyssey from persecution in India to embracing America as his homeland proves that courage and hope have the power to overcome hate.

For more information, visit pbs.org/independentlens/dreamindoubt.

Pictured: Rana Singh Sodhi, his wife, Sukhbir, and their children gathered around a photo of his murdered brother, Balbir Singh Sodhi.
Photo Credit: Andrew Ramsammy/ITVS