"I was astonished about her achievements."
A film is being made about the UK’s first female Asian police officer, murdered by her husband more than 50 years ago.
Titled A Winter’s Lion, the film centres on PC Karpal Kaur Sandhu, who joined the Metropolitan Police in 1971 aged 27.
Sandhu previously worked as a nurse.
By becoming a police officer, she broke barriers for Asian women in Britain. But two years later, Sandhu was stabbed to death by her husband after he objected to her career.
He claimed policing was neither suitably Asian nor ladylike. He was later given a life sentence for her murder.
A Winter’s Lion is directed by Dhruv Bhatnagar, who says Sandhu’s experiences reflect his own lack of representation growing up.
He said: “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 into a Sikh family in Zanzibar in 1943 before moving to the UK in 1962.
She worked as a nurse at Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield before joining the Metropolitan Police.
During her policing career, she served at Hornsey and what was then Leyton police station.
Her achievements have been increasingly recognised in recent years.
In 2011, Detective Sergeant Gurpal Virdi of the Metropolitan Police Sikh Association said:
“When I started researching Karpal, I was astonished about her achievements.”
Producer Dr Parvinder Shergill plays Sandhu in the film and says she felt deeply connected to the role.
She said she was “meant to play her” due to their shared background as doctors.
Shergill added it was “a huge responsibility to play a trailblazer”.
Sandhu’s family have worked closely with the production, sharing personal memories to help shape the film.
Shergill described Sandhu as a woman driven by care and compassion, adding:
“She was a mother, wife, family woman; she was a nurse and had a real compassionate side.
“She clearly cared about the people in her community, she wanted to help and change the world for the better.”
Filming took place in Hornsey and Leyton.
The Metropolitan Police acted as a consultant on the film, despite facing ongoing criticism over 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.”
Amanda Abbington, known for BBC’s Sherlock, has joined the cast.
BAFTA Cymru winner Mark Lewis-Jones also stars in the film.
Many involved discovered Sandhu’s story for the first time during production.
Although independently made, the team hopes the film will reach a global audience.
The aim is for the film to be released in 2027.
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