This year has been good for Punjabi films, with Sardaarji 2 and Ambarsariya -- both starring Diljit Dosanjh -- being the biggest hits. That apart, Ardaas and Love Punjab have been appreciated critically. With the success of > Udta Punjab triggering greater interest in cinema of the region, the industry has more keen watchers than before. Here are some of the most-awaited films:
Chauthi Koot (The Fourth Direction):
Gurvinder Singh’s second feature film after Anhey Ghorey Da Daan , which won multiple National Awards in 2011, including that for best direction. Chauthi Koot , set in the insurgency-scarred Punjab of the mid 1980s, combines two short stories by Waryam Singh Sandhu, Chauthi Koot and Hun Main Theek-Thaak Haan (I am Feeling Fine Now). Screened as part of ‘Un Certain Regard’ at Cannes 2015, the film reportedly received a 10-minute standing ovation.
Gelo
Manbhavan Singh’s debut film is an adaptation of Sahitya Academy-award winning Punjabi writer Ram Saroop Ankhi’s novel of the same name. In a recent interview to The Tribune, Singh said the film is about a group of landless women farmers in Punjab’s cotton belt of Malwa. One woman, Gelo (Jaspinder Cheema), rebels against her powerful landlord (played by veteran actor Pawan Malhotra), demanding greater rights for labourers. The film also features the issue of drug abuse among youngsters. The trailer also indicates that the film has, among its themes, an inter-caste love story.
Tiger
Sartaj Singh Pannu’s revenge drama starring Sippy Gill, who was introduced by Simranjit Singh Hundal in his 2013 film Jatt Boys . This is Pannu’s second Punjabi film after Nanak Shah Fakir , his biopic on Guru Nanak Dev, whose music was mentored by A. R. Rahman
Main Teri Tu Mera
Directed by Kshitij Chaudhary, who directed a 2009 iteration of Waris Shah’s famous love story Heer-Ranjha. Main Teri Tu Mera’s trailer suggests that it will be a romantic-comedy with a tinge of the supernatural, like a wastrel bumping into a girl whose image forms part of his dreams.
Chaar Sahibzaade: Rise of Banda Singh Bahadur
Harry Baweja’s sequel to his 2013 animated-historical blockbuster. The earlier film, a biopic of the 10th Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, and his four sons, grossed more than Rs.70 crores worldwide, making it the biggest Punjabi hit of all time. The sequel takes the 17th century story forward, narrating the bravery and sacrifice of Banda Singh Bahadur as he battled the Moghal empire.