Here is a quick round up of Pollywood in 2021…

Sheetal

POLLYWOOD was eager to return to the big screen, which very well explains a flurry of releases almost each week. The actors, directors and producers just refused to bow down to the pandemic and worked endlessly on films, and whenever there was a small window of hope, they were ready to entertain. Here’s a look at what all Punjabi cinema has done in 2021.

Litmus test

After the first wave of Covid when things started looking better, films like Aape Pein Siyaape and Kuriyan Jawaan Bapu Pareshan were released in theatres in February and April, respectively. Although they didn’t work, compared to some films released later, they at least brought people back to the theatres. Ammy Virk’s Puaada and Qismat 2, Kartar Cheema’s action film Thana Sadar and even Harish Verma in Yaar Anmulle Returns charmed the audience.

Once more

This was also a year of sequels with Chal Mera Putt 3, Yaar Anmulle Returns and Qismat 2 being released. Taking the advantage of available screens, director Janjot Singh’s 2020 film Chal Mera Putt 2 was also re-released this year.

Subject wise

Known more for comedy films and period dramas, Pollywood industry brought out some really fresh stories for the audiences. What stands at the top is Honsla Rakh, starring Diljit Dosanjh, Shinda Grewal, Sonam Bajwa and Shehnaaz Kaur Gill. In a first, it explored a father-son bond, which generated fun and whopping box-office numbers.

Gippy Grewal, who has previously introduced message-oriented films with Ardaas, dabbled with different genres, right from a thriller, Warning, which he wrote himself, to Paani Ch Madhaani, which took the audiences back to the days of Punjabi stage artistes. Ammy Virk and Sargun Mehta’s Qismat 2, a serious romantic film one rarely sees in Punjabi, came up with a fresh perspective.

Sidhu Moosewala’s debut movie Moosa Jatt brought the perspective of farmers to the fore and Teeja Punjab, released in December, was no different. Another motivational drama, Tunka Tunka, saw Hardeep Grewal was quite appreciated.

Ensemble cast

Big star cast was another noticeable trend this year, where Warning, Paani Ch Madhaani and Jinne Jamme Saare Nikamme stood out. It started right from Kuriyan Jawaan Bapu Pareshan in April, continued with sequels such as Chal Mera Putt 3 and Yaar Anmulle Returns and ended with Shava Ni Girdhari Lal in December, which had seven heroines and one hero!

First take

While Hardeep Grewal produced his debut film, Sidhu Moosewala took his own time for his debut. If Moosa Jatt was about farmers, then Yes I Am Student was about the struggles of students who migrated to foreign shores. Shehnaaz made her debut as the lead with Honsla Rakh. Star-kids who debuted this year included Sweetaj Brar, daughter of Raj Brar, and Armaan Anmol, Karamjit Anmol’s son. Gippy’s son Shinda Grewal was hailed for his performance too.

Digital route

Jinne Jamme Saare Nikamme became the first Punjabi film to witness a direct-to-OTT release. The film stars Jaswinder Bhalla, Binnu Dhillon, Pukhraj Bhalla, Armaan Anmol and many others. Apart from this movie, Puaada, Fuffad Ji and Qismat 2 are also available on Zee5, since Zee launched a campaign called Rajj Ke Vekho, which will make every Zee Studios’ Punjabi film run on their digital platform after one month of theatrical release.

Number game

Honsla Rakh had a bumper opening with worldwide gross collection of Rs 21-crore during the first four days of its release, followed by Qismat 2, which made Rs 12.27-crore in the first four days. Warning made Rs 3.58-crore in two days of its release and the makers couldn’t control their excitement to announce Warning 2, which will release on July 22, 2022.

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