They beg to differ

Jasmine Singh

No songs, no dance, no khet wala romance…If you want us to repeat this, we will, but it would still be the same. The fact remains that now you can watch Punjabi films that don’t have any song or dance. And yes, these are regular commercial films. Punjabi film, Lock, is a fresh example of a small budgeted, short-length Punjabi film without a song and dance sequence that has created magic at the box office.

You must be wondering what happened. Well, let’s just say an experiment became successful. Here you go…Punjabi cinema has turned experimental with storylines and treatment which are different. Do you like the idea?

Working in the lab

Let’s start with scriptwriters, bringing in new ideas, and next up directors and producers, who take the bold step of executing those ideas. Shares Gippy Grewal, “Pali Bhupinder, the writer of Lock, actually approached me for producing this film. But I liked it so much that I offered to do a role in the film.”

Some recent examples of films like Gelo, Ardaas, Angrej, Channo Kamli Yaar Di, Bathinda Express and Vaapsi are films that claim a new and experimental storyline. Though not all these films translated into hits, they have, however, paved the way for a fresh kind of cinema.

While we give credit to the scriptwriters, industry insiders like to divide the credit between producers and actors.

Too soon still

For those who don’t know, famous Bollywood rapper Badshah was the producer of Ardaas. “I would think twice before making a film like Lock or Gelo,” producer Maninder Batth puts across candidly. There is a catch in this as well. “Producers should encourage small budget films, something that Bollywood has been doing for long. Let’s forget about making the singers act and actors sing, let’s just concentrate on the script and direction only. The more we encourage this kind of cinema, the more we would be taking Punjabi cinema further ahead.”

What’s more

The good news is, this experiment is getting the thumbs-up from both producers and fans alike. Punjabi movie fans are finally accepting that comedy is not inherent to Punjabi cinema. Suraj Sharma, a businessman from Mohali, doesn’t miss a single Punjabi film these days. He has watched Ardaas and Gelo many times. “I won’t say that all films that are releasing these days are brilliant, but there is something new in every film, which is commendable.”

Mahesh Bhatt’s upcoming Punjabi film Dushman is also one-of-its kind experiment in cinema. How it fares at the box office or whether it gets a nod from fans is yet to be seen.

Experiment that paid off

This year we saw many Punjabi films that experimented on the level of story and script. Even though these films tanked at the box office, fans still took note of them for their fresh story ideas. Here is a list of some films, which made an effort to give the audience new stories—

* Ardaas, Lock, Vaapsi, Gelo, Needhi Singh, Bathinda Express, Dulla Bhatti, Channo Kamli Yaar Di, Lakeeran, Bambukat   

jasmine@tribunemail.com