Jatt Nuu Chudail Takri

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.