Son of the soil

The wait is over — Punjabi singer-actor Babbu Maan is making comeback after four years! We do not know if the movie, Sucha Soorma, will do wonders for Punjabi cinema, like Shah Rukh Khan’s comeback film Pathaan did for Bollywood, but the fans are excited to see him back.

I am a kisan

and I will be a kisan. Everybody fights differently, but I do not choose to speak loudly on stage or disrespect anyone. I believe anything can be said humbly without pointing a finger.

As Babbu appeared for the trailer-release event at Bestech Square Mall, Mohali, on Monday, he was his regular witty self in the same hairstyle that we have known him for since Mittran Di Chatri and Pehla Peg. Alongside Babbu was the director, Amitoj Mann, and other cast members. “This period film is about love, heroism, friendship, traditional sports and action,” revealed Amitoj, who had also directed Babbu’s Punjabi debut film Hawayein in 2003. Little wonder then, Babbu said, “Before reading the script, I said yes to the film because of our friendship, which goes back long years.”

Babbu, who was happy to see how stars like Guru Randhawa were making a mark globally, said during the time off from films he was busy watching kabaddi and cheering the team. “Hun mein vapis raid paun aaya hai. (Now I am back to ‘raid’),” he quipped.

As the trailer was played not once but twice, Amitoj revealed, “We are doing a period film. More than the script, the making of the sets and depicting the timeline was crucial for its success. In that period, everything was loud, from dialogues to action sequences, so we have kept it that way.”

Based on the life of folk legend Sucha Singh and what led him to become a dacoit, in Sucha Soorma, Babbu would be seen in the titular role. Regarding social media, he said, “I don’t relate to social media when it comes to promoting yourself or your work. Yes, there are benefits of the Internet, phone and these social media platforms, but anything is a curse when forced down your thought. These corporates and multi-national companies think ten years ahead of us. Every nursery kid is eating with a phone in hand. It’s ruining our culture and leaving us misinformed.” The actor even quipped that if every star on social media was charged Rs 10,000 for going live, there wouldn’t be anyone left to go live! “Similarly, if an app is launched to find genuine likes or clicks on your music video, everyone will know how many have been faking 10 lakh as 10 crores views! It’s a sham,” he said.

Through movies that especially tell stories about Malwa region of Punjab, Babbu said he was trying to educate the people of Punjab about the rich folklore, history and real-life heroes. “Sucha Soorma is one such step in the direction. If the film works, we will bring more projects that help propagate Punjabi culture and language. In the fast pace world when metaverse is making cities, it’s important to bring stories of our heroes through cinema. Because syllabus books in schools are busy making us learn about John Keats in third standard! Who will talk about Bawa Balwant?” he questioned.

Saga Studios and Seven Colors are together presenting this film, which also stars Sameksha Oswal, Suvinder Vicky, Sarabjit Cheema, Mahabir Bhullar, Gurinder Makna, Gurpreet Toti, Gurpreet Ratol and Jagjeet Bajwa. It will release on September 20.