Bollywood to Pollywood

Manpriya Singh

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For anyone who has followed Bollywood in the eighties and early nineties, must be well acquainted with the credit ‘KC Bokadia presents…’. The period when Hindi film industry was as mainstream as mainstream could get. When movies followed a linear narrative, were either family-oriented, or maybe took on the system, didn’t offend any sensibilities, catered to single screen audience and did silver jubilee at the box office.

However, for the producer-director credited with the title, “the fastest producer to make 50 films,” it has taken comparatively an era to step into Punjabi film industry. “It’s about all the timing, about things falling in place. Last year, I made a regional film, this year two big Bollywood projects are coming up. So things have been busy, but fortunately, in the past 10 days itself everything fell in place, right from the actors, to the title to the script,” he shares, as makes the announcement of his upcoming debut directorial, Meri Vahuti Da Viah. A film that he has announced in the spur of the moment, “I will release on June 5 this year.”

Besides, things are looking up for Punjabi cinema, as in his own words, “The success rate of a Punjabi film doing well are as high as 60 to 70 per cent while the chances of a Hindi film doing well are only 10 per cent.”

Joining Bokadia in the venture are Jaswinder Bhalla, Gurpreet Ghuggi, B.N.Sharma, Karamjit Anmol, Harby Sangha, Gehna, Rana Jung Bahadur, while Pukhraj steps in as the lead actor along with actress Gehna. Significant names from B-town coming back to Punjabi film industry is something like history coming a full circle, opines Gurpreet Ghuggi. “See earlier the film industry existed in Lahore, which was reset in Mumbai, so now if they are one by one coming back, it’s only fair.”

Just as we begin to fear whether the cast once again will be stereotyped into comic roles, BN Sharma assures, “I have done close to 135 Punjabi films and never ever have performed a character like the one you’ll see me in this film.”

Jaswinder Bhalla is too grateful for the evolution of comedians. “There was a time when comedians were considered fillers in the films, but now we are considered the pillars of the film.”