Film on murdered Met trailblazer being made

A film is being made about the UK's first female Asian police officer who was murdered by her husband more than 50 years ago.

Called A Winter's Lion, the film depicts the story of PC Karpal Kaur Sandhu who joined the force in 1971 at the age of 27 having worked as a nurse.

She was stabbed to death by her husband two years later. He had objected to her career, claiming it was neither suitably Asian nor ladylike. He was given a life sentence for her murder.

Director Dhruv Bhatnagar told BBC Radio London's Shay Kaur Grewal: "Growing up I've not had many British-Indian role models to look up to, so I can relate to the barriers that Sandhu faced."

Sandhu was born to a Sikh family in Zanzibar, east Africa, in 1943 and came to the UK in 1962, where she got a job as a nurse at Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield.

Upon joining the Met, she served at Hornsey and what was then Leyton police station.

Back in 2011, Det Sgt Gurpal Virdi of the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association, said: "When I started researching Karpal I was astonished about her achievements.

"She was the very first Asian woman police officer, not only in London but also in the world, because the first woman officer in India was Kiran Bedi in 1972."

Playing Sandhu is producer Dr Parvinder Shergill who said she felt she was "meant to play her" as she is also a doctor. She added it was "a huge responsibility to play a trailblazer".

Shergill has worked with Sandhu's family in this process who shared their memories with the crew.

"She was a mother, wife, family woman; she was a nurse and had a real compassionate side," she said.

"She clearly cared about the people in her community, she wanted to help and change the world for the better."

The production is currently being filmed around Hornsey and Leyton, and is set to finish filming on Sunday, 1 February - the date PC Sandhu joined the Met.

One of the film's consultants was the Met Police, an institution that has faced multiple claims of systemic racism.

Shergill said: "We don't want it to be a pointing the finger at the police, we want to work together - they have been brilliant especially, the Sikh association."

Actress Amanda Abbington, known for her role in BBC's Sherlock, has joined the cast and Shergill says having her on the production is like having "butter on bread".

Also joining the cast is BAFTA Cymru winner Mark Lewis-Jones.

Like other members of the crew, she has discovered PC Sandhu's story for the first time. Although it is an independent film, they are hoping for Sandhu's story to go global.

The crew are hoping for release next year and for the film to be a thank you to PC Sandhu for being a trailblazer and a message to say "thank you to our current women serving".

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