Punjab, Punjabi music and Sikh Characters are all over Bollywood these days. But there is one unique feature of this week’s Friday, as all the three new Hindi films released have key Sikh Characters in their narrative including many reputed names as mentioned ahead.
MUBARAKAN – Nothing much is there to reveal about the complete Punjabi look and feel of this project as already seen in its trailers. Revolving around three Punjabi Sikh families and their grown up kids, this can easily be called an enjoyable Punjabi Comedy made in Hindi offering clean family entertainment to its target audience.
And the film has Anil Kapoor, Pavan Malhotra, Rahul Dev and Arjun Kapoor playing lead Sikh characters like never before.
RAAG DESH – A different take on the past with reference to Indian National Army, this is based on the joint court martial of INA officers Colonel Prem Sehgal, Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon and Major Shah Nawaz Khan (a Hindu, Sikh and Muslim representing the entire nation – as also expressed in the film). Quite an authentic but less engrossing project knowingly made for a particular section of viewers, presented by Rajya Sabha TV.
Amit Sadh plays the role of the Sikh colonel Gurbaksh Singh in it, a hot-headed person who doesn’t even think before hitting an English officer.
INDU SARKAR – Madhur Bhandarkar’s yet another real life inspired film made around the period of Emergency in India during 1975-77, this is about a revolutionary group working against the government featuring Kirti Kulhari as one of their lead peaceful protesters.
Among its important sequences we have Manav Vij playing an honest Sikh police officer, who raises his voice against the unjustified torture of Kirti and gives his resignation refusing to be a part of such unethical system. He later gives shelter to Kirti and the two orphan kids post the emergency is called off.
So all the three films released this Friday have key Sikh characters taking the limelight, surely for the very first time in the history of Hindi Cinema.
(The article also got featured in UC-News mobile app in July 2017)
------------------
Shared below are views – In addition to the original article.
Punjabi music and Sikh characters have been a part of Hindi Cinema right from its early decades enjoying generous screen time, for instance a complete song included in Raj Kapoor’s JAAGTE RAHO (in 1956) as “Tey Ki Main Jhooth Boleya” picturised on a group of Sikhs singing and dancing together.
The involvement could regularly be seen in the later decades too in many major projects featuring the big stars. But it actually increased to many folds, post the mid-90s with the foreign market or territories being explored and contributing a lot in a film’s overall box-office performance.
However, it was just recently that I realized that Sikh characters in the lead were right there in all the major releases in Hindi Cinema in few consecutive weeks.
In the first week of July there was GUEST IIN LONDON having a strong Punjabi feel in its entire concept and execution. Later Satinder Sartaj a reputed name in Punjabi music and literature made his debut straight away in a Hollywood production THE BLACK PRINCE released in English, Hindi and Punjabi. And the last week of July came three films MUBARAKAN, RAAG DESH and INDU SARKAR, all having key Sikh characters in their narration (as stated in the detailed article shared in the link given above).
But that is not all, as next week we have Imtiaz Ali’s JAB HARRY MET SEJAL, again having a strong influence of Punjab and Shah Rukh Khan wearing the turban too, coming from an acclaimed director who has a Punjabi based song in his each and every film released till date.
Plus there is an interesting project coming soon directed by Amole Gupte featuring the youngest spy superhero played by a Sikh boy. A film where the boy gets some extraordinary power of sniffing criminals, it should be a great fun coming from the director of STANLEY KA DABBA and HAWA HAWAI.
So no doubt, SIKH lead characters are all over Hindi Cinema at the present like never before and they are here to stay too.
Cheers!
