Dr. Amrit Singh, A young Sikh surgeon, moves from Toronto to Detroit to take a position at a new transplant facility, leaving behind his family and Indian girlfriend.
The film follows Amrit's struggles against the pressures to assimilate, including considering removing his turban and cutting his hair, racial discrimination, an unfair medical system in which uninsured patients cannot receive transplants, and romantic temptation in the shape of an attractive colleague.
He spent ten years learning filmmaking while working as a hospital doctor before making the film, taking advice from Kurt Luedtke who directed Out Of Africa.
"[3][16][17] Variety argued that the "mix of tepid hospital intrigue plus underdeveloped cultural/relationship conflicts feels like a routine TV episode stretched to feature length, with little dramatic urgency or cinematic style to render its good intentions compelling.
"[14] SF Weekly said "Mishandled, this film would be very funny in a bad way, but Neelam skirts the very real perils of risibility.