A prayer for Punjab

Jasmine Singh

Rolex check. Gucci check, Kadda check. Flashy cars and jeeps check. A .32 bore check. A lavish lifestyle check. And with almost all the checks in place comes out a suave jatt shehari Punjabi, a specimen one would have definitely come across either in Punjab University, Sector 10, 8 or somewhere near DAV College.

This is just one side of the story, for there is certainly another side to it—a Punjabi who is struggling to save his small landholding, a Punjabi, who is dealing with the over smart money lender, a Punjabi who is dealing with drugs and identity crisis. It is for and from the other side, the rural side that actor-director Gippy Grewal and his crew make an Ardaas, through his Punjabi film with the same title.

It is an Ardaas to end drug menace to build a strong rural Punjab which is the backbone of the state. With the best actors like Gurpreet Ghuggi, Rana Ranbir, Sardar Sohi, BN Sharma, Karamjit Anmol, Ammy Virk, Mandy Takhar and Isha Rikhi on board, who shot in rural Punjab for the entire film, we wonder what is the ardaas or prayer they have on their lips! Rapper and music director Badshah also joins in the prayer.

We begin with the lovely ladies first, Mandy Takhar of Sardaarji fame and Isha Rikhi who has been the popular face of umpteen Punjabi videos.

Long live innocence

“We shot in the village for the film, and seeing the real rural lifestyle, the real love that they show, I pray that this innocence stays forever. Rural Punjab is where every Punjabi will find his or her identity, so this is a place that should be kept away from all the evils of societ.”— Mandy Takhar.

Beauty to behold

“There is no match to the beauty of Punjab. I bet if one gets up to see the lush green fields, puff in ample fresh oxygen, have the desi unadulterated food, it will certainly make one happy and expand longevity of life who knows. I pray the beauty of Punjab, the rural Punjab stays the way it is.” – Isha Rikhi

Community feeling

“I am a product of Punjab, and it’s my duty to give back what I have earned. I pray that all youngsters from rural Punjab going to the metros to find jobs always stay connected to their roots. I pray that those who have stayed behind to look after their families and land don’t get tied to drugs or others social evils. And I sincerely pray that the community feeling that is still so alive in every pind of Punjab remains so. This is my ardaas.” —Gippy Grewal

A model for the rest

“Our villages are our lifeline, they are our identity, they define us and I feel even strongly now that we should not forget our roots and do something for it. My prayer is and will always be that every single soul that resides in the villages of Punjab, struggling to take care of their land, manages to stay afloat. I pray every village in Punjab gets all the facilities and be a model for rest of the country.” — Gurpreet Ghuggi

Positive message

“My ardaas is that the film Ardaas sends out the right message, touches every heart and leaves a positive mark.” — Badshah, producer