A Punjabi cop story, Jahankilla bats for a happy and harmonious Punjab
A cop story that celebrates friendship and pushes for an equal world is what Punjabi film Jahankilla is all about. Debut direction by Vickey Kadam, the film explores life of three boys — Shinda (Jobanpreet Singh), Ghabrila (Jashn Kohli) and Sanju (Jeet Singh Panwaar) — who come together at a Punjab Police training centre and form a deep bond.
Under the strict command of Sewa Singh (Parkash Gadhu), they dream of pulling their families from clutches of penury. However, Shinda gets into trouble for beating a senior. From thereon, starts discrimination and bullying. Not ready to back down, Shinda, with the help of his friends, prepares for the civil services exams with an aim to don an IPS officer’s uniform. The film beautifully depicts the camaraderie at the academy. Gurbani Gill, as Simran, portrays another girl whose family is keen to settle her in Canada after marriage.
Jobanpreet Singh, who is also the writer of the film, does a fine job. Jeet Singh Panwaar enacts the role of Sanju with utmost sincerity. A do-gooder, he is happy to help his friend achieve what he could not. The funniest of them all is Ghabrila — Jashn Kohli. The happy peppy soul, who gets scared rather easily, evokes many a laughs with his innocent comic act. Gurbani looks beautiful on screen and acts decently well.
A simple watch, it comes replete with songs, which are soon losing their place in ‘real’ stories that form a major chunk of cinema lately. With most of the cast rather new in the field, director Vickey Kadam has managed to pull off a decent screen outing.
Through dialogues, the film talks of struggles faced by cops for whom call of duty overrides family. A character says how the young of this country should stay on their land and help make it a better place. And, for society to be not divided on caste or class lines, but come together to make Punjab — the land of great seers —prosperous and harmonious again. Due credit to Jobanpreet for writing this story. One hopes to see more films that celebrate the rich land of Punjab and the Punjabi spirit. — Mon
