Close to life, close to reality

Amarjot Kaur 

Hailing cinema as a predominant social influencer in the region, popular Punjabi actor Rana Ranbir, who turned director for the first time, calls his upcoming directorial venture Asees “a social drama”. 

At the launch of the film’s trailer, Rana is accompanied by its actors and producers. Set in Punjab, the film is an emotional narrative exploring the complex and overwhelming bond between a mother and son. The film marks Rana’s directorial debut and he is also one of the three producers of the film. 

With an experience of over a dozen years in the industry, Rana Ranbir has acted in some 55 films and has written 10 films. He started his Pollywood journey as an actor in director Manmohan Singh’s Dil Apna Punjabi and became a writer with Munde UK De. “With Asees, I have taken up an altogether new role—that of a director. It must have taken me a year-and-a-half to write the film, but we filmed it in 19 days. I reckon, as a debutant director, that script is the king and once that is sorted, everything else runs smoothly,” he says. 

With an aim to make a realistic Punjabi film, which resonates with masses, Rana shares that almost 2.5 crore have been spent on the film.

Rana, during his stint as a director, learnt a thing or two along the way. “By the courtesy of my new role, I was also able to understand my flaws as a writer. I understand that director must not work in the confines of a dictator, but like a father, who nurtures and enriches the film like his own child. It’s been an overwhelming experience, synchronising with cinematographers, actors, makeup personnel, basically everyone, from top to bottom,” he says.

The film will also feature Neha Pawar, who has acted in two Bollywood films (Paranthe Wali Gali and Thoda Luft Thoda Ishq) along with a couple of TV shows. “This is my first Punjabi film and I will be playing the role of a simple village girl, alongside Rana Ranbir. Since I am a Sikh, I can converse fluently in Punjabi. But I wanted to explore regional cinema. I am doing another South Indian film which will also release this year,” she adds. 

In lead roles, Asees will feature Rana Ranbir, Rupinder Rupi, Kuljinder Sidhu, Neha Pawar and Sardar Sohi. Touted to go on floors on June 22,, the film has been produced collectively by Lovepreet Sandhu, Baldev Singh Bath and Rana Ranbir under their production banners Navroz Gurbaz Entertainment Ltd, Basant Entertainment Ltd. and Zindagi Zindabad Ltd.