Character certificate

Jasmine Singh

Udta Punjab and the hullabaloo around it...a good number of people from Chandigarh and Punjab watched the movie precisely for this reason. Though they raved about the performances of Alia Bhatt, Diljit Dosanjh, Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan, the brilliance of the character artistes in the film, all from the region, was not lost on them.

In fact, a huge of number of Punjabi film and theatre artistes are securing decent enough roles in Bollywood films. Here, we bring you the names that have stood out in their characters and will be surprising you with more Hindi film projects. This is their story before and after, and what is next for them.

Talk of the town

Manav Vij

This doe-eyed Punjabi actor was seen playing a romantic boy in Punjabi film Mannat starring Kulraj Randhawa. After a string of Punjabi films, and a serial, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Manav from Ludhaina was noticed in the National Award winning film Punjab 1984 where he played a negative character. This time as he plays the bad cop in Udta Punjab, Manav sure has the industry talking about him. “My outlook towards acting has changed, I don’t see any role as a big or small one, I just want to act well,” shares the actor, who is elated and humbled with the response he is getting from Bollywood. “If Sudhir Mishra, Vikas Bahl and Anurag Kashyap tell me that they have liked my role, it definitely feels good.”

As for becoming stereotyped, Manav has the answer in the next two Hindi films that he is doing. “I have a beautiful role in director Vishal Bhardwaj’s Rangoon and another one in Phillauri. And I am not playing a cop,” he adds. The projects also validate his career changing for good.

Racing on…

Japtej Singh

Everyone noticed this young boy in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag where he played a young Milkha. Life wasn’t the same for Japtej after the release of the film. “One, doing a character role in a Bollywood film gets an artiste more visibility, and reach too,” shares this 15-year- old, who was actually flooded with offers after his debut Bollywood stint.

The roles were more or less of the same kind, one thing that this young lad has noticed. “I preferred a short film directed by Navtej Sandhu whose earlier films have made it to the Cannes Film Festival,” he adds.

Hear it from veerji

Mahabir Bhullar

“After completing my B.Sc, I did MA in dramatics, while the rest of my classmates took up B.Ed, today most are retired, tey hun babe (he addresses himself) di vaari hai,” laughs Mahabir Bhullar who played ‘veerji’ in Udta Punjab.

This, however, isn’t his first Bollywood film. This known theatre artiste from Amritsar has worked in Hindi films like Jeet, Dhushmani, Ghayal and Border. “Now, many Hindi films are being shot in Punjab and also Amritsar, so when a production house approaches any agent, they suggest the name accordingly,” he says.

Mahabir is not in a hurry to grab Bollywood, he knows he will be getting roles as per his acting skills. “Thankfully I haven’t faced the problem of getting stereotyped; whatever roles I have done in Hindi films have had their variation.”

This artiste definitely believes that character roles in Bollywood do give an edge to an artiste. “I think, some people in Mumbai know me by now, which is good enough,” he gives a hearty laugh.

No longer on a Holiday

Sonpreet Jawanda

Sonpreet from Ludhiana vouches for the reach of Hindi cinema when it comes to a character artiste being noticed on screen. This young man made his appearance in Bollywood with Akshay Kumar’s film Holiday.

“I played Vishal in the film, and right after the film I was approached for other character roles.” Sonpreet, who has worked in three Punjabi films, would still call a role in a Hindi film as something that is worth the shot.

The local hero

Ranjha Vikram Singh

A role in Bollywood film Heropanti, which marked the debut of Tiger Shroff, also gave Chandigarh-based actor Ranjha Vikram Singh an appreciable space as a character artiste from which he has benefitted a lot.

“Getting screen space in a Bollywood film opens doors for further projects,” shares this handsome actor who played Rajjo Fauji, a negative character and has also done roles in Imran Khan-starrer Ya Rabba and Mumbai Godfather.

“The characters in a Hindi film are etched out as well as the others, which is why for an artiste it is always a good break. A role in a Bollywood films surely changes the course of acting career for any regional actor for good.”