Sahar Mann’s ‘Khemo’ shines internationally, writes Disney Brar

A silent portrait of a Punjabi widow living in an empty village, suspended in a world that has moved on without her. A quiet rhythm is replacing what was once a vibrant way of life in Punjab’s villages, shaped largely by large-scale migration. All that remains is nostalgia and a longing for community and companionship. The film portrays a Punjabi widow living alone in her ancestral village after her sons immigrate to Canada.

Sahar Mann, daughter of renowned Punjabi singer and actor Harbhajan Mann, has made her directorial debut with a Punjabi short film titled ‘Khemo’, which premiered on September 26, 2026, at the International South Asian Film Festival (ISAFF) in Surrey, British Columbia, held at the Landmark Cinemas, Surrey Guildford. The film was presented in ISAFF 2026’s The Original Dreamers shorts program.

There once lived ‘Khemo’

The film explores the emotional impact of migration and its effect on the family members left behind. Sahar, who also penned the story, brought a deeply personal story to an international audience and platform with ‘Khemo’. The title of the film finds connection to Mann’s ancestral village Khemuana which was named after a local tale of a woman, ‘Khemo’ who is believed to be its namesake. 

From childhood, Sahar has visited her ancestral village since the early 2000s, and there, a chance encounter with a widowed relative helped her develop the idea of weaving a story around the subject and bringing it to life on 70mm. A few days before the film premiered in Vancouver, Sahar shared an exciting update on her social media handle, writing that a story that began in her beloved village was now landing in Vancouver, a city built by generations of the Punjabi diaspora, including her own family. So, bringing it home meant more to her than words could ever explain.  

How ‘Khemo’ took roots

In an interview, she had said, “I got to sit with a widowed relative of mine and the idea for my film sprung from her story. She was just doing things in her life like she always did, like taking care of the house and her family in the same way for the last 25-30 years. For me, it was important to tell that story because we often overlook such women, and that is where the whole story comes from.” 

The film features Punjabi theatre and film actor Sunita Dhir as ‘Khemo ‘. Talking about Dhir’s choice as ‘Khemo’, Mann said, “From our first rehearsal to the final take, Sunita ma’am approached Khemo with care, precision and depth. I could not imagine anyone else holding this role.”  Actor Parminder Gill will also be seen in the film.

Adding further, she said, “Whenever I used to go to my village, I saw fewer and fewer people living there each time because of migration of people to foreign shores in search of better pastures. So last year, when I went there, the whole village was very quiet, and only old people were left. It made me think about what their life was like without their children.The more I tried to interact with them and learned about their lifestyle, the more I realized they were very lonely. They reminisced about the old times when their children were around them; those were the livelier times. I just wanted to focus on the mothers and tell their stories to the world. I wanted to know what they did with their time and life until their children came back home to visit them. It’s lonely there, and their stories are not often told. They are forgotten in the community, and so I wanted to highlight that story. “

A shadow of its former self

As part of the groundwork for the film, Sahar wrote on her Instagram handle that she visited her village, Khemuana, in October 2025 and spent time there speaking with local villagers about how life there had shifted over the past 10-15 years. Now, fewer people, less movement, and fading traditions gave the village a different kind of presence. Conversations with the village elders became the emotional groundwork for ‘Khemo’, which drew inspiration from the deeply rooted resilience and love embodied by the older generations.  

On choosing to debut as a director, Mann said, “I finally listened to a persistent voice that had been echoing in my mind for years, urging me to tell stories through filmmaking. Getting to make this film where my roots are placed made the experience even more meaningful. Creating in that environment sharpened the way I observed, listened, and told this story.” 

Sahar’s ‘Khemo’ reminds us that if a voice asks you to create something or step into the unknown, it’s worth paying attention, even if it looks or sounds scary at first, because dreams often dwell in possibility.