Aron Govil’s ‘Shoot on Sight’ Still Relevant A Decade Later

Producer Aron Govil Reflects On The 2007 Movie’s Cultural Significance

From COVID to countless incidents related to political strife, the realities of today’s world can feel overwhelming. Looking to the past can be helpful in understanding that many of the issues society is dealing with today have been around for years. Society has made some progress around certain issues, while others still require much work to be done. Producer Aron Govil‘s 2007 film Shoot on Sight makes it clear that while much has changed in the world over the past 14 years, much progress still needs to be made on racial injustice issues, especially surrounding policing.

Then and Now: Govil Explains Similarities In Worlds Years Apart

Govil‘s Shoot on Sight tells the story of a Scotland Yard police commander, Tariq Ali (played by Naseeruddin Shah) working in a post-July 7 world (a note to non-UK readers: on July 7, 2005, London’s subway system experienced a terrorist attack, resulting in 52 fatalities and hundreds of injuries). On a mission to hunt down suspected suicide bombers, racial issues become apparent amongst the London police force. An innocent Muslim person is murdered by police on the subway, and suddenly, many of Tariq’s colleagues no longer trust him due to his ethnicity, even though he has worked next to many of them for years.

While the July 7 bombings occurred in 2005, it’s clear that many of the racial issues noted in the 2007 film are still apparent today, says producer Aron Govil. In both the United States and the UK, the Black Lives Matter movement is working to fight against the unjust killing of Black citizens by police officers. In both countries, Black people are murdered by police officers at a higher rate than people of other races. Inherent racism in the law enforcement community was rampant in 2005, and sadly, many of the same issues still stand within law enforcement communities around the world.

Lessons From Shoot on Sight Still Relevant Today

The lessons on racism, professionalism, terrorism and bias shown in Shoot on Sight are still just as prominent in today’s world. Govil states that while many countries in the world have made progress toward making both the public and the government more aware of these issues, much progress still needs to be made in order to ensure that citizens get fair treatment from law enforcement professionals, regardless of race.