Meet the lad who caught Jagdeep Sidhu's attention with his Sher Bagga

26 year old

Manmeet

Singh has been dabbling in art since his childhood. The fact that since he was a kid, his parents have been friends with some leading directors like Jagdeep Sidhu and Imtiaz Ali, seemed like a natural progression for his passion to foray into the world of cinema through art. While Manmeet did not actively pursue art as an adult, his passion in the field was revived three months ago. One such creation by Manmeet is a poster of Jagdeep’s upcoming film

Sher Bagga

.

The artwork immediately drew the attention of the filmmaker and his entire star cast including Sonam Bajwa and Ammy Virk who posted it on their social media handles, attributing it to Manmeet.

“In school

Meet

did a lot of painting and art. But he did not feel it was something he needs to put all his energies into back then, until now when he seems to have renewed his interest in the subject,” says Kiran, Manmeet’s mother.

Why this episode is also important for the proud parents is because Meet, as he is loving called at home, has borderline Asperger’s syndrome. “I showed this artwork to Jagdeep and he liked it and shared it at his own will, so that was very nice and encouraging of him,” says Harinder Singh, Meet’s father.

While the parents were keen on Meet getting a conventional education, they say the academic system in the country is not encouraging of inclusivity. “In India, our environment is not very inclusive for students like Meet,” says Kiran, adding, “Students don’t accommodate kids with special needs in our schools. I am very proud of who Meet is for his lovely temperament. Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali was fond of him when he was a kid when he would meet us and he was also very understanding of his condition and special talents.”

Meet has been through tennis, learnt German and is currently enrolled with an art gallery for learning art. He had also enrolled in Delhi University for B Com but was compelled to drop out owing to health issues. “He was born with a musical instinct, maybe passed on from me as I am a Hindustani classical vocalist. He used to be very good with numbers and had a photographic memory around dates. He never has any anger bursts, is very calm and loves the elders in the family. His interests are in psychology, god, philosophy and he is a big time foodie,” smiles Kiran.