Punjabi cinema — good, bad & ugly

A session on Punjabi Cinema – Resurgence at CIFF saw the participation of film directors Anurag Singh, Gurvinder Singh, Smeep Kang and Jagdeep Sidhu. The discussion on the roadblocks and also milestones achieved in Punjabi cinema was engaging.

All praise for fellow panellists, Anurag said directors in Punjabi cinema should stand by their choices. “I remember I approached a big Bollywood star for Chauthi Koot and he refused to do it. It was the same for Adh Chanani Raat. I had requested a popular Punjabi actor and he refused citing, ‘meri image khraab houjugi’. So, if Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah could work on both commercial as well as art cinema why can’t our stars,” he said.

Smeep, who is known for giving commercial success in the comedy genre, said, “To make an art film is one thing but to promote an art film is a different story. I made Lock in 2016, which was an adaptation of Malyalam film Shutter. It had Gippy Grewal and Gurpreet Ghuggi. But the audience didn’t accept it.”

Jagdeep put forth the heightened sensibilities of people in the age of social media where directors like him are afraid to even put a surname to the characters in film.