Murder Unveiled

Really good, made for TV movie. This is a modern day Romeo and Juliet that started out kinda weak but then fully sucked me in especially since the investigation is still in the news here in Vancouver. It's the story behind the murder of Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu, a young (Canadian) girl who fell in love with an (auto) rickshaw driver while in India for her cousins wedding and then married him against her family's wishes. As she had already been promised into a higher caste with an arranged marriage. Her father then hires assassins to kill the groom.

This has a definite Lifetime movie feel to it but I believe its a CBC production, you know what I mean though. Good performances here (despite some questionable fake beards) and just a heartbreaking story as we watch Jaswinder struggle with her strict Sikh upbringing, try to escape her family and arranged marriage and ultimately not get enough time with Davinder.

The father is traditional to a fault and you really hate him, the romance is sweet, (young obsessive love). There is also some time spent with the Indian police investigation that followed. 6.13 Filmed in Canada and the Punjab region of India.

Based on a true story, this movie starts out with a violent beating and kidnapping on a dark road in India, then goes back in time to tell the tale of how this young couple met in Canada and her struggle against her strict Sikh upbringing there, their plan to escape her family and her arranged marriage in India, and the Indian police investigation that followed.

This genuine Romeo and Juliet story is riveting from start to finish and I can't recommend it strongly enough.

* Please note that according to the IMDb's own numbers this movie actually received 7 stars by the mean average or 8 stars by the median, not the 3.5 stars they are displaying. The IMDb claims this is because they use a "secret weighted system" to rate movies that prevents "ballot stuffing". To date 51 people, including myself, have rated this movie in the six years since its release -- how that could possible be construed as ballot stuffing makes me question the entire IMDb rating system.

What is the price of pride? In many cultures and passed down through many families, is the importance of Pride. What is pride? Is Pride so important that one would actually order the murder of their own flesh and blood? I know too well how many families have argued over, "How will it look." or "What will the family think or our friends?". How about following through with what is right? Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu's parents have failed greatly at the gift and blessing of being parents. What is even more disturbing is the price they have paid for Pride.

This movie is fantastic at outlining the plight of Jaswinder and how cold and inhumane those closest to you can be.

God be with you Jaswinder...justice will be yours!!