6 lives, six stories, one film 'Qissa Panjab'
Tribune News service
Amritsar, September 3
Upcoming Punjabi film 'Qissa Punjab' that focuses on the lives of six young people, their hopes, dreams and aspirations and the choices they make to achieve them brings fresh faces and a fresh perspective on the youth of the state. The movie is directed by Jatinder Mauhar, who is known for making meaningful cinema, and is produced by Annu Bains, an interior architect and educationist by profession.
Moving away from the Punjab of mustard fields, Annu Bains decided to make her film during the stark, cold foggy winter season. “Punjab is beautiful in winters,” says Annu, “The fog and the mist and the bare trees create a stunning landscape and I wanted that captured on the celluloid.” The story and screenplay is by Uday Pratap Singh. While the cinematography is by Apal Singh, who is one of the top documentary makers in the country.
The film has an ensemble cast of new actors. Like Preet Bhullar, Kul Sidhu, Dheeraj Kumar, Jagjeet Sandhu and Harshjot Kaur. “The talented bunch of fresh faces have breathed life into their roles and have lived their characters,” says Mauhar. Coming from theatre backgrounds, the young actors seemed confident about the story resonating with the audience. “The film is not preachy and does not shout out messages from the rooftops. It's up to the audience to take home lessons from it or not take any. A commercial entertaining film, it dwells on the socio economic conditions in Punjab and its youth. It touches upon sensitive issues of drug abuse, alcoholism and the quest of the Punjabi youth to go abroad, among other issues," said Mauhar.
