"Demons of the Punjab"

"Demons of the Punjab" takes us back in time to one of the critical periods of 20th Century history. The image that most people in the West have of Partition is the lines of Hindus and Muslims passing each other in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi. What we are shown in Vinay Patel’s remarkable story is how this event affected the history of one family and one person in particular – Yas. The cast of characters is small, but the issues and emotions are certainly not. There is a memorable alien race in the shape of the Thijarians, but it turns out that they are mere observers and not the demons of the title. The demons are those of Dostoyevsky; thoughts native to the thinker that take on a malevolent life of their own and make the thinker do the unspeakable. The partition turned long time neighbours into enemies and turned families against each other and the story of Yas’s grandmother’s tragically short first marriage ads heart to this traumatic background.

Tosin Cole and Bradley Walsh are as impressive as ever, but, finally, Mandip Gill is given the spotlight and she shines in a performance that is funny and heartwarming. This is a key period in history, but its tragedies are all-too universal, so, brilliantly, all the Indian characters are given Northern English accents by the TARDIS – the Yorkshire sadhu in particular is memorable. Shane Zaza and Amita Suman are fantastic as the doomed couple. Hamza Jeetooa is excellent at portraying the conflict between Manish’s love for his brother and his growing Hindu nationalism. It is always good to see Shaheen Khan and, in the present day, we have the invaluable Leena Dhingra as the older Umbreen. The Doctor is the Doctor throughout, being wholly authoritative in her face-off with the Thijarians but her joy at being able to experience female bonding is wonderful.

The direction by Jamie Childs is first rate, with the laid-back compositions for rural India contrasting well with the jarring stabs of the Thijarians manifesting themselves. The aliens are magnificently realised and the sheer beauty of the shot of Prem’s face joining the host that the Thijarians witnessed is wondrous. The moments of Punjabi and Yorkshire domesticity do not clash with this, and the final tragic outcome of Prem and Manish’s relationship is flawlessly executed. Perhaps it is significant that two otherworldly entities witness Prem’s death, as they echo Munkar and Nakir, the angels who judge the dead in Islamic eschatology, and who witness for a Hindu who gave his life for his Muslim love. I must also mention the evocative score by Segun Akinola, whose greatest triumph is the Indian-influenced arrangement of the theme tune, which never moves into parody.

The framing story in the present day, and Yas’s request from the Doctor recall "Father’s Day", but, in the most purely historical story since Black Orchid, we are effectively given the human consequences of historical upheaval, as with The Massacre. In the end, however, the success of this very powerful story, is purely due to its own merits.

NEXT: "Kerblam!"