Pollywood artists who are changing the image of Punjabis in Bollywood

Ammy Virk has kick-started his Monday morning by hooking the fans with the latest picture of him and former cricketer Balwinder Singh Sandhu from the Dharamshala boot camp.

The Punjabi singer-actor Ammy Virk is making his Bollywood debut with ‘‘83’ and will be seen playing Balwinder Singh Sandhu on the big screen. Moreover, to get into the skin of the character Ammy Virk is getting training from the man himself - Balwinder Singh Sandhu.

In the latest picture, one can see Balwinder Singh holding the ball and trying to explain spinning to Ammy. While putting the picture, Ammy Virk wrote, “Spinning times are coming up!! Real training with my Reel avatar Balwinder Singh Sandhu sir from the Dharamshala boot camp. #Relive83”.

Slated to release on April 10, 2020, the shoot of ‘‘83’ will go on the floors in May.

Beside ‘‘83’, Ammy Virk has another Bollywood project in his kitty - ‘Bhuj: The Pride Of India’. The movie chronicles the real-life events that took place during the 1971 India-Pakistan war. Ammy Virk will be seen playing the role of a fighter pilot in the film.

Kabir Khan’s sports drama ‘‘83’ will be going on the floors on May 15. As of now, the cast is training with the former and real team members of 1983 World Cup for the movie at Dharamshala and has been sharing clicks from the same. Today Harrdy Sandhu also took to his social media handle to share a picture of him, with one of the real champs of the 1983 World Cup, Mohinder Amarnath.

While sharing the picture, Harrdy Sandhu mentioned how content he was to meet Mohinder a.k.a ‘Jimmy’. He wrote, “With Sir Mohinder “Jimmy” Amarnath - One of the heroes of 83 world cup. It was an absolute honor meeting him.”

On the screen, the role of Mohinder Amarnath will be essayed by Saqib Saleem, and Harry Sandhu will be seen portraying the role of Madan Lal.

This will be Harrdy Sandhu’s debut Bollywood movie, and by choosing a sports biopic, the singer has proved that Punjabi artists can do more than mere comedy flicks. Besides, Ammy Virk is also making his debut with ‘’83’. He will be seen as on-screen Balwinder Sandhu.

The movie will make it to the screens on April 10, 2020.

There was a time when Punjabi cinema and artists were only related to a respective genre, comedy. However, gradually more and more Punjabi artists are being roped into essay substantial roles in Hindi cinema. An example of the same is the casting of Ammy Virk in the Kabir Khan’s directorial ‘83’. On one hand, where Ammy himself is very elated with this new milestone in his career, on the other his fellow contemporaries are also equally happy. Recently, in a candid conversation with ETimes, Punjabi singer-actor Jassie Gill also shared his contentment on the same.

Jassie Gill said, “It’s really nice to know that Ammy Virk bagged the respective project. He does relate a lot to the 1983 cricket. He is playing Balwinder Singh Sandhu in the movie, his look actually matches with the character, and he is leaving no stone unturned for the role.”

The artist went on to say, “Earlier in Bollywood, filmmakers used to make anyone a Sardar, but now they look for real people from the industry, with whom the audience can relate. They rope in somebody whose look matches with the character and who actually has the same accent. This is one of the reasons why Punjabi artists are gradually getting more opportunities in Bollywood. People like to see real, and the closer you bring them to reality, the more they will appreciate.”

‘83’ is slated to release next year on April 10. The Kabir Khan directorial is sports based biopic on the 1983 cricket world cup, in which Ammy Virk will be playing the character of Balwinder Singh Sandhu, the fast bowler.

The way Punjabi cinema and Pollywood artists were being seen, has been changed over the past few years. Earlier Pollywood stars were only considered good for comedy roles, but currently, they are roped in for content rich cinema, biopics and more. The credit of this new perception somewhere goes to Punjabi actors who choose to break the stereotype and changed the image of Punjabis in Bollywood. To know more about Pollywood actors who changed the way Punjabi are presented in Hindi films, read below:

The turbanator of the entertainment world, Diljit Dosanjh is one of the most popular Punjabi faces of Bollywood. Right from his debut Hindi movie ‘Udta Punjab’, Diljit Dosanjh has changed the way people look at Punjabi artists. Though in Pollywood, Diljit is known for his comedy, as his first Hindi project, he signed up a movie that dealt with a serious issue of drug peddling. The actor who was earlier told that if he keeps the turban he will not be able to get much work in mainstream Bollywood, today has proved everyone wrong. Diljit’s last Bollywood movie was ‘Soorma’, a biopic on the life of Indian hockey player, Sandeep Singh and it did good work on the box office. His next release is ‘Arjun Patiala’, in which finally his comic side will be unveiled on the Bollywood’s big screen. Post that, he will be seen in Karan Johar’s ‘Good News’, which will be coming out next year.

Some names need no introduction and Gurdas Maan is one of them. Be it Pollywood or Bollywood, the man is regarded as the living legend. Gurdas Maan is not seen much in Hindi movies, but every time he makes an appearance, his character leaves a mark. Gurdas Maan was recently seen in ‘Manto’. Written and directed by Nandita Das, the movie was a biopic about famous Urdu author Saadat Hasan Manto. In the movie, Gurdas Maan appeared in the story ‘Khol Do’. He essayed the role of a father desperately looking for his daughter, who went missing during the partition. Maan got so much into the skin of the character that his helpless gaze on the screen connected with the audience in no time. The aura Gurdas Maan brings on the screen, leave his fans craving for more.

Jassie Gill made his debut in Bollywood this year with ‘Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi’. The movie is from the genre of romantic comedy and Jassie Gill played the lead along with Sonakshi Sinha in the movie. Though his character was sketched with strokes of comedy, it wasn’t the only shade that the actor brought on the big screen. The Punjabi singer-actor donned a turban for his role and didn’t present slapstick comedy, but portrayed urban relatable humour. For his next, Jassie Gill has signed a sports-based movie ‘Panga’. Besides highlighting the game of kabaddi, the movie is high on emotions and talks about the worth of family and relations. As his second Bollywood movie, Jassie Gill signed a script that offered him something different that he can entertain his fans with.

Mahie Gill is a well-known face of Punjabi and Hindi cinema. In Pollywood, she has not just established herself as an actress, but also as a producer. She has similar plans for Bollywood as well and is looking for good Hindi scripts. Admit it or not, the world of big screen entertainment is male dominated, and thus, getting roles with substance for an actress is not exactly a cake walk. Having said that, Mahie Gill mostly signs movies that give meat to her character. Her work in ‘Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster’ and its sequels is a proof of the same.

There are heroes and then there are actors, Jimmy Sheirgill undoubtedly falls in the second category. His is another name from the Pollywood industry who has a very strong impression of him as a fine artist in Bollywood. From comedy to serious genre films, he has done all in Bollywood. Jimmy Sheirgill has actually not left any stone unturned as an actor; from vanilla romance to horror stories to the content based cinema, you name it and Jimmy has done it.