BBC Releases Sidhu Moosewala Documentary on YouTube Ahead of Mumbai Screening Amid Legal Challenge
Babushahi Bureau
Chandigarh, June 11, 2025
Amid controversy over its planned screening in Mumbai, the BBC World Service on Wednesday released its documentary on Sidhu Moosewala on YouTube, ahead of schedule. The release coincides with Moosewala’s birth anniversary, even as his father has sought legal intervention to halt its broadcast.
The late singer's father, Balkaur Singh, has filed a petition in a Mansa court in Punjab, seeking a stay on the screening of the documentary. Meanwhile, the family is also expected to release an extended play (EP) of Moosewala’s songs later in the day. Moosewala was born on June 11, 1993.
Titled The Killing Call, the two-part documentary features interviews with Moosewala’s old friends, several journalists, and senior police officials from Punjab and Delhi. It also includes an audio interview with gangster Goldy Brar, who is accused of planning Moosewala’s assassination in Mansa’s Jawahar Ke village on May 29, 2022. Brar is alleged to be the mastermind behind the killing.
The first episode explores Moosewala’s early life, rise to fame, and the controversies that trailed his career. The second focuses on the circumstances and aftermath of his murder. In the video description on YouTube, the BBC World Service stated:
“On 29 May 2022, Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala was murdered by hired hitmen who followed his car, shot him through the windscreen, and left him to die. As news of the killing spread across India and around the world, a gangster named Goldy Brar claimed responsibility for the hit. But three years later, no one has been convicted of this murder, the motives remain murky, and Goldy Brar is still on the run.”
The description further adds:
“It’s a story that takes us from the villages of rural India to the hip-hop scene of eastern Canada, from the turbulent history of Punjab to the contested politics of modern India, and from the shadowy world of organised crime to a chilling phone call with the fugitive gangster who says he ordered the hit. Based on hours of unseen archive and exclusive access to Sidhu’s friends and musical collaborators, the film features voices that have never spoken to the media before.”
The Civil Judge (Senior Division) court in Mansa heard the case on Tuesday and adjourned it to June 12 for further proceedings.