Michgan Indian - Dr. Sarab Neelam

Last week I wrote a blog post on "Ocean of Pearls" a Hollywood movie made by Michigan Indian Physician Dr. Sarab Neelam. Just got a word that Nipa Shah of MIICC has just interviewed Dr. Sarab Neelam.

In the interview Dr. Sarab Neelam talks about always wanting to make movies ever since he was a young boy living in India. With the encouragement of his parents though he became a medical doctor.

During his residency in Michigan, he met Jim Burnstein a screen writer professor at University of Michigan. Jim has been a friend and mentor to Dr. Sarab Neelam since then.

So what motivated Dr. Sarab Neelam to make "Ocean of Pearls". There were several world events such as 1984 crisis in India, Iran hostage standoff, and 9/11 that made the Sikhs feel as outcasts and terrorists. Sikhs were misunderstood in the world. These events strengthened his desire to tell the world about who Sikhs really are. Sikhs were a victim of hate crimes and waves of intolerance. Quoting Dr. Sarab Neelam:

At times I questioned myself as to why was I born a Sikh and why couldn't I be like everyone else. It is only with time and experience that you realize that just because you wear a turban doesn't make you a Sikh and just because you wear a white coat doesn't make you a doctor. So "Ocean of Pearls" became the story of a young Sikh doctor battling the injustices of the American Health System and ultimately his own identity.

Ocean of Pearls - A Hollywood Film with a Michigan Indian Connection

Sarab Neelam, M.D., is a physician at St. John Macomb Hospital in Warren, Michigan. He is also the man incharge (director) of Ocean of Pearls a Hollywood Film.

"Ocean of Pearls" premiers Aug. 7 at Landmark Maple Art Theatre in Bloomfield Hills, MI and soon after at AMC Forum 30 in Sterling Heights, MI.


Short Synopsis:

Amrit Singh is of two worlds, but belongs to neither. A turban-wearing Sikh, he has lived his life in North America out of sorts and out of place, cast adrift at an uneasy crossroads between East and West. But when he is offered a prestigious position as a transplant surgeon in a Detroit hospital, the young doctor sees it as a opportunity to start fresh. He struggles to be the man he believes he is and at the same time the person he wants to be. His ambitious pursuit of success, however eventually leads to tragedy and it is only in defining his singular identity that he finds peace.