Atlanta Film Festival screens 'Close the Loop' on the Carter Center Lawn
Kabir Sehgal’s new film “Close the Loop” looks at the life and success of his father, Raghbir (R.K.) Sehgal. At the film’s opening, Kabir calls his father “the Indian Forrest Gump.” The film is based on Kabir’s best-selling book of the same name. “Close the Loop” will be screened on the Atlanta Film Festival’s opening night at the Carter Center on April 22. Both father and son joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes via Zoom to talk about R.K.’s singular life encompassing so many historical milestones and how his son went about capturing the story.
Interview highlights:
On R.K.’s nickname, “The Indian Forrest Gump:”
“My dad has a history of showing up to places and volunteering … My dad wasn’t just a civil engineer. He befriended people such as Ambassador Andrew Young, who he hired to work for him at Law Engineering; John Ehrlichman, an advisor to President Nixon; Joe Frank Harris, the former governor of Georgia — all were in my father’s orbit,” said Kabir. “Growing up as his son in Atlanta, I heard stories at the dinner table about my dad’s upbringing in India. Maharajah this and Gandhi that, and I was like, ‘This is a book. This is a movie one day.’”
Kabir said, “My dad’s story intersects with many, many world chapters, chapters important to Atlanta. For example, the Olympic Games. My dad was instrumental in helping bring the Olympic Games to Atlanta. The Iranian hostage situation — my dad, was in Iran during the Iranian Revolution. It goes on and on and on. So I hope when you see the film ‘Close the Loop’ … by seeing my father’s story, you see world events unfolding because my dad kept on showing up and volunteering for things.”
Memories of darker moments arriving to America:
“There used to be a, what they call a Black person who used to sweep our floors. I said to him, ‘We can train you to work as a technician.’ So we trained him to work as a technician, not sweeping,” recounted R.K. “So two days later, when I came to my apartment, there was a, what do you call it? A fire right in front of my apartment. So I said to myself, ’This must be people just welcoming me.’ That’s the way people welcome in India — they give candles and all that.”
He continued, “My house mother over there, she said to me, ‘What did you do today?’ I told her that I promoted a Black man. She said, ‘Do you know? This is cross-burning.’ … That was my first introduction about KKK. I thought the cross burning was a welcome sign. I found out, no, it was a threat to my life.”
Advice for living the good life in “Close the Loop:”
“‘Going above and beyond is making sure that generosity is how you lead. When you go into a room, and you don’t know people, try to find one or two people that you’d say, ‘Oh, let me see how I can serve them. Let me see how I can help them.’ And that’s very diametrically opposed to how a lot of us are wired, including myself,” said Kabir. “We’re always thinking about our own careers; how do we advance? My father taught me, the more you put the light on someone else, the light will shine back on you.”
The Atlanta Film Festival will screen “Close the Loop” on April 22 at 8:30 PM at the Carter Presidential Center. More information is available here.
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