Chal Mera Putt – A fresh take on illegal immigrants and foreign dreams

Gurnaaz Kaur

It’s a story about Punjabis trying to make a living in a foreign land. The subject may sound repetitive but the treatment is fresh and full of life. Chal Mera Putt marks Janjot Singh’s directorial debut; as his first film, it seems Janjot is well-versed with the craft and knows how to translate a screenplay into an interesting story. The technical and artistic elements of the film reflect that clearly. 

So, coming back to the story, it is a light-hearted comedy but deals with some serious matters. The first one being, how illegal immigrants make a living in the city of Birmingham. Their struggle to earn money, their fear of getting caught and being deported, their dream to acquire a PR and their responsibility to support families back in Punjab—all these aspects are picturised quite true to life.

The second theme is about friendship among these illegal immigrants with an undertone of a connection or, should we say, separation between Indians and Pakistanis. With some famous Pakistani actors on board, the movie has done a remarkable portrayal of the cultures of Punjabis across both sides of the border. 

The Punjabis from India (Amrinder Gill, Gurshabad and Hardeep Gill) make their ends meet to become the citizens of the United Kingdom. In their daily grind, they meet three Punjabis from Pakistan (Iftikhar Thakur, Nasir Chinyoti and Akram Udas) and all these six Punjabis start living together. While they are mostly united in their hardships, a slight sign of difference/hostility comes to the mind of one of them, which brings the film to its troublesome, emotional climax.

As the lead star, Amrinder Gill is convincing. He is mostly calm and poised (a requirement of his character). His innocence and naughtiness is heartening. Simi Chahal, on the other hand, looks her bubbly self and plays her part well; just that she doesn’t have that much presence in the movie. In fact, shown as the love interest of Amrinder Gill, there is hardly any chemistry between them and no romance either.

Gurshabad, Hardeep, Iftikhar, Nasir and Akram may be called the supporting cast but their roles are equally central as the leads. And each one of them packed in a great performance. The comic timing, the dialogue delivery, the punches— Chal Mera Putt gains on all points. There’s comedy, action, drama and above all a story, so it can be worth a watch this weekend.

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