Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu had a special attachment to his body or village. So, in the music world, he added his village name and the name became a brand. Born in Moses village in Mansa district of Punjab, singers and rapper gained fame across the world, especially among Punjabi immigrants. The recently released BBC documentary the Killing Call on the incident of Mouswala’s fame and his assassination refers to a friend who says, Mousiwala “was” it “and” he took 50 years of his life in those five years. “
The Britain’s The Guardian newspaper included Muswala among 50 emerging artists in 2020. In 2021, he released Mosetep. This track made a splash worldwide. It made it to every list from Billboard Global 200 to Canadian Hot 100 and New Zealand Hot Chart. Mosetep became the first Indian album to achieve this position with more than 1 billion streams on sports. Sidhu was shot dead in 2022 at the age of 28.
Mousalawala did not hesitate at all from political personalities, state-system and social hypocrisy. His songs often used to mention barbarism, political corruption and plight of Punjabi youth and unemployment. The government’s ignoring farmers, drug addiction and extreme disappointment among the youth were his favorite subjects.
He raised issues like political corruption and religious and political injustice directly. In his songs 295, he targeted the laws that pressurize and decorated disagreement. In this rap, he sang, “If you tell the truth, then you will be jailed under Section 295.” His track SYL released after his death is mentioned in the politics (disputed Satluj Yamuna Link Canal), political prisoners, farmer crisis. But this was banned.
Muswala also gave prominence to Sikh and Punjabi identity through his songs. Their songs climbed on the tongue of the youth and they came to be seen as a high regional voice against national uniformity. He had to be a victim of criticism for promoting gun culture several times and glorifying violence. Many of his songs mention fierce symbols for the loud voice of strength, pride and identity, especially the Sikh youth. In this sense, his songs sometimes cross the line between their fierce identity and demolition.
Mouswala was killed on May 29, 2022 with bullets in broad daylight. A day earlier, the state government withdrew his police security. This was controversial. He was shot more than two dozen bullets. Gangster Goldie Brar, who lives in Canada, took responsibility for the assassination and claimed that Mousiwala Bishnoi-Barad’s rival Bambiha gang was secretly helping the gang. But many people believe that the anti-power stance of Mousala became the enemy of his life.
If he had been alive, he would have turned 32 years old on June 11, 2025. On this occasion, BBC World Service has released The Killing Call. His father Balakaur Singh has strongly objected to this documentary, directed by investigative journalist Ishleen Kaur and produced by Ankur Jain.
Balakaur Singh filed a petition in Mansa’s court to stop the release. His argument is that the name of Mosewala in the documentary, the similar story of his life has been used without the consent of the family, this can cause people to become proud, as the hearing of his son’s murder case is still going on. At such a time, he described the documentary as “abusive” and accused the filmmakers of taking advantage of the personal tragedy for commercial benefits. Following the legal appeal, the BBC did not do the screening in Mumbai, but released the film on YouTube.
The film includes the recording of the voice of Goldie Brar, who took responsibility for the murder of Mousala. Despite the objection of Balakaur Singh, The Killing Call hits a detailed look at the circumstances of the murder of Mosewala. It draws attention to the connivance of politics, crime and celebrity personalities in Punjab.
Legal dilemmas
The documentary usually has to maintain a delicate balance between the search for the truth and the personal grief of someone. This is not the first time that filmmakers have faced objections from the families of the people shown on the screen. Documentary Series Making a Maurder (2015-2018) on Netflix had to face a sharp criticism for allegedly distorting the evidence and to present select facts, causing a debate on the morality of the nonfixing cinema.
Fantasy biopic and historical films are also often victims of criticisms to change or simplify real events. Many major films in Indian cinema have been accused of demolishing historical facts in the last few years, in some cases it is valid, not even in some. Raees (2017) was criticized to glamizes a gangster. But the son of gangster Abdul Latif filed a case of Rs 101 crore against the makers of Raees, claiming that the film maligned his late father and damaged the family’s reputation. The Gujarat High Court ruled in favor of Shah Rukh Khan and the makers, stating that the defamation claim could not remain after the death of the person concerned.
Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday (2004) faced ban and political pressure for serious depiction of the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. In 2005, Mushtaq Tarani, an accused in the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts, demanded a ban on the film’s release. Tarani argued that the film would create prejudice against him and other accused persons in the minds of the people. The Bombay High Court agreed to this and initially banned the release of the film. The film finally released in 2007.
Hide the truth
Biopic like Azhar (2016) and Sanju (2018) was accused that Mohammad Azharuddin and Sanjay Dutt had exposed the bitter truths of life. Historical films like Bajirao Mastani (2015), Padmavat (2018) were accused of distorting the events and protested in several circles. In the song ‘Ghoomar’, the makers had to cover Deepika Padukone’s waist digitally. This indicates how the creators have to make absurd changes to please the self-styled watch of culture.
Thackeray (2019) is built like Bal Thackeray’s biopic. Critics say that the scenes of the political leader appearing in the court, especially in the trial that incite violence, are not in accordance with the records. Bala Saheb never appeared formally in any judicial action related to the 1992-93 riots or other matters.
Recently, Vicky Kaushal’s film Chhawa (2025) faced strong criticism from the Shirke family to portray his ancestors as a traitor. Deepak Raje Shirke accused the filmmakers of incorrectly presenting historical facts. The family threatened that if their objections are not taken care of, they would sue Rs 100 crore and would protest a statewide protests. Director Laxman Utekar approached Bhushan Shirke and apologized. He clarified that the nickname or villages were not clearly mentioned in the film.
Where to draw the Lakshman Line?
Tension between kissagoi and historical facts is not new. Robert J., who is called the father of the documentaries, Flehrti was accused of creating a fabricated scene in the Nanook of the North (1922), which was one of the first feature -drawn signs made so far. Despite being a revolutionary of his time, Nainuk’s Inute Life is somewhat romantic. Flehrti made a change in Inuit traditional activities that were not the time, such as hunt with a hooty instead of guns.
The documentaries focus on real people, especially in true crime stories, this stress emerges especially only then. These films often highlight injustice or systemic rot. The challenge is in the balance between the reality and the fine line of morality. Legal concerns like defamation are justified, only hurting emotions should not be the reason for such a censor or pressing.
