Sukhpreet Kahlon

Written and directed by Rakesh Dhawan, Kudi Haryane Val Di, starring Ammy Virk and Sonam Bajwa in the lead roles, brings a freshness to Punjabi cinema with its exploration of cultural differences between the states of Haryana and Punjab. Dhawan explores the cross-cultural theme with the backdrop of wrestling to create an enjoyable drama. Shivjot (Ammy Virk) is the only son in a family of wrestlers but has no interest in wrestling. Carefree and lazy, he reads poetry in the hopes of finding a partner who will make his heart skip a beat. As luck would have it, his gaze falls across the wrestling arena, and he finds Neelam (Sonam Bajwa), the daughter of Mann Singh Dahiya (Yashpal Sharma), the proud owner of an akhara or wrestling ground. Unlike Shivjot, Neelam is passionate about all things wrestling, and in a turn of events, Shivjot finds himself as the coach of Mann Singh’s wrestling team, just as a ploy to get close to her. But when Mann Singh’s arch-rival Sheeshpal throws down the gauntlet, Shivjot must rise up to the challenge and prove himself to be worthy of Neelam’s love.

Vikas Vashisht’s Punjabi-language feature Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri (2024), starring Gippy Grewal and Sargun Mehta in the lead roles, is an unremarkable horror-comedy with a light-hearted take on a social issue. Written by Amberdeep Singh, who wrote the blockbuster hit Saunkan Saunkne (2022), also starring Mehta, Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri raises some pertinent questions but tries to squeeze in too many things, resulting in a bit of a muddle. A self-willed woman who refuses to tow the line, is known by many names in a patriarchal society. ‘Chudail’ or witch is one of them, which denotes a difficult woman of malicious intent. Amberdeep Singh mobilises this unfortunately common epithet in Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri, in an attempt to examine the attitude of men towards women, in particular, that of husbands towards their wives.

Gippy Grewal’s latest Punjabi-language film Warning 2 (2024) picks up the threads from its predecessor Warning (2021), to take forward the revenge action drama. Directed by Amar Hundal, who directed Warning and Babbar (2022), Warning 2 plays to his strengths where he foregrounds slow-motion shots, stylised action choreography featuring tough looking goons, all held together by a threadbare screenplay. Warning left off at the point when Geja (Gippy Grewal) is imprisoned and comes to the same jail as Pamma (Prince Kanwaljit Singh). Geja is the top dog and the whole assortment of gangsters languishing in jail are itching for a chance to prove their worth. Pamma is fascinated by the tales of Geja’s gruesome killings wherein he learns about Geja’s past and how, predictably, he set out to take revenge for his family’s murder, which led him to a life of crime. When the prisoners are being transferred to another location, it presents a golden opportunity for the prisoners as well as the predators circling outside, to seize the opportunity and balance the scales.

Comedy has become the genre synonymous with Punjabi cinema, and director Smeep Kang’s latest Punjabi-language feature starring Gippy Grewal, Binnu Dhillon and Karamjit Anmol is a fun, family film that comes with a social message. Kang has already delivered a blockbuster hit earlier this year with another Gippy Grewal-starrer, Carry On Jatta 3 (2023), followed by the recent Ammy Virk-starrer Gaddi Jaandi Ae Chalaangaan Maardi (2023). His latest offering, Maujaan Hi Maujaan, fully makes use of the rib-tickling performances of the actors to keep audiences amused. Orphaned at an early age, three differently-abled brothers, Karan (Gippy Grewal), Soni (Binnu Dhillon), and Jassi (Karamjit Anmol) have brought up their sister Aman (Hashneen Chauhan) with a lot of love and wish to get her married. She is in love with Jimmy (Jimmy Sharma) but Jimmy’s father, Shamsher Singh Brar, (Yograj Singh) is prejudiced against differently-abled people and will never allow his son to marry into the family.