Punjab 2016 –Punjabi Movie – a ray of hope for social change from ‘drug culture to work culture’

Ferozepur, December 1, 2016 : For a social change, art works as one of the major tool and contribute in establishing a health society and in early times drama and now the movies have been considers as a big instrument.

Punjab 2016 – Punjabi Movie – recently released in Punjab is the film about the drug problem among the youth of Punjab and has four youths playing the lead characters who portrayed Punjab in different shades.

The story concept is of Jagdeep – a student of Theatre and Television Department of Punjabi University, directed by Balraj Sagar assisted by Inderjit Moga an artist of Red Arts Punjab and produced by Principla Surjit Singh Sidhu.

In the present era, the film is confined to entertainment only in the cinema hall but at the same time, if the viewers also feel its responsibility then the films like Punjab 2016 could be helpful in curbing the menace of drugs in the state.

Punjab 2016 has taken the initiative of converting the successful presentation of ‘corner plays’ into film to give a clear message to the young generation who figured and blamed for becoming a part of flowing of sixth river of drugs in the state.

The hit line of the film is – It’s better to be aware of the responsibilities than lifting dead bodies on shoulders.

In fact, the intellectual class is side tracking from films with message to the society and Red Arts team has taken the responsibility to fill up the vacuum to come out with new techniques for social change.

The best part of the film is that there is no full song but the background couplets by Jasbir Jassi, Harshdeep Kaur, Yuvraj Hans, Baba Beli, Gurjit Jiti and Kanwal Grewal, are befitting on each scene and no support of any female character as heroine has been taken to allure the audience with vulgar scenes and dialogues.

The Red Arts artists – Jagdeep, Shivam, Gevi, Sehameet and Neeraj  despite financial crises could produce this film with a budge of Rs.50 lakh.

The prominent figures of film industry Rana Ranbir, Gurchet Chitarkar, Gurpreet Kaur Bhangu, Anit a, Malkit Rani, Rahul Jungral have contributed for the success of the film.

The key dialogue in a role of Minister – Eh Gall Mein Nahi Kehna, Mere To Pehla Siyania Ne  Kahi Hai and one of the college friend – Meri Bebe Kehndi Si… are catchy and made the film interesting in the absence of any comedian character.

Another weak point in direction is that Minister indulged in the drug trade is standing and security around him is shown sitting.

Producer Sidhu was disappointed when he shared that one of the school in the state has kept the students away from viewing the movie perhaps due to  the lengthy scene of taking drugs in the first half, which are pinching and  keep the viewer to get a time to comment negatively.

I being member of mass counseling teams constituted by the district administration to put wiser the students in the schools about the moral values of life, I feel the Punjab 2016 movie will come up as a ray of hope among the youths to keep them away from drug culture to work culture especially when Punjab state is passing through various crisis.