Source: Public Broadcasting Service Independent Lens
[pbs.org/independentlens/americanmade/index.html]
On May 2, 2006 Public Broadcasting Service Independent Lens reported on the new short film "AMERICAN MADE," "In the desert, a mountain in the background, a disabled SUV sits behind three people: the mom and two sons, the oldest shields his eyes from the sun as the other two look outward The father, Anant, in a turban, beard and sport shirt, stands on the side of an empty desert highway, his arms are up as he holds a bumper sticker of an American flag... 'I wanted to tell the story of a father and a son,' says Writer/Director Sharat Raju. So begins AMERICAN MADE, a conflict between a father and a son, a reflection on assimilation versus identity, faith versus compromise. As the sun sets on the American desert and coyotes lay in wait, will someone stop to help? What measures will it take? When a Sikh American family’s SUV breaks down on a remote desert highway during their all-American road trip to the Grand Canyon, they are confronted by more than the threat of an unfriendly terrain. Anant, an Indian-born Sikh who wears a traditional turban, sees this as just another challenge—an opportunity to save his family and tell great stories about their escape from danger. His wife, Nageena, is not thrilled. Not only did she insist on taking the interstate but she is certain that this will be the last family trip after her eldest son Jagdesh moves to New York City. Spending time with her sons in a smoking car in the desert is not what she had in mind for their family trip."