Real on reel: Punjabi movies based on true life stories and incidents

Punjabi singer turn actor Ninja is currently keeping his fans hooked with the pictures of him from his upcoming movie ‘Zindagi Zindabad’. Earlier he shared some shots of him and Mandy Takhar and now he has shared his own still with his on-screen gang in the background.

The picture somewhere brings forth the dark shade that Ninja’s character might have in the movie. At the same time, it shows that the protagonist in this film is very strong and will be bringing a plethora of shades on the screen.

Slated to release on August 2nd, ‘Zindagi Zindabad’ is said to be inspired from some real-life incidents. The movie has been written by Mintu Gurusaria and directed by Prem Singh Sidhu. Further, Ritika Bansal, Ashok Yadav, Mandeep Singh Manna and Gaurav Mittal are bankrolling the same.

‘The Black Prince’ fame director Kavi Raz is ready to hook the audience again with another period drama ‘Sarabha The Cry For Freedom’. The movie is based on the Ghadar movement and will be bringing the real-life story of freedom fighter Kartar Singh Sarabha on the big screen. The shoot of the same has gone on the floors today, and Jobanpreet Singh, who will be seen playing a pivotal role in the movie has started shooting his sequence.

Talking further about the movie and the Ghadar movement, if you look back in the history of India’s freedom struggle, the Ghadar Party turned furious when Indian immigrants who were returning to their land were killed or arrested en-route in a clash with the British authorities. Thus, the party declared a war, leading to the formation of an armed rebellion force against British imperialism. However, the movement was crushed eventually.

This period drama is scheduled to release on May 24.

Though Punjabi film industry is mostly known for romantic comedies, the filmmakers are gradually bringing real on the reel. There are a number of Punjabi movies that have either taken inspiration from true life incidents or have been based on real characters. If you wish to know about it in details, then scroll down and read about the Pollywood movies that are based on real-life stories and incidents.

Based on the real character of ‘Sardar Mohammad’, the Harry Bhati film captured the pain of families and children who got separated during the Indo-Pak partition. It showed the emotional journey of the man who went on a quest to find his true identity. The movie had singer turn actor Tarsem Jassar in the titular role and he did complete justice to the character with his subtle, mature and controlled performance.

Released last year ‘Harjeeta’ was a biopic based on Indian hockey player Harjeet Singh Tuli. He was the captain of the Indian Men’s Junior Hockey Team. And under his leadership, the team was able to bring the world cup home. The ‘Nikka Zaildar’ fame writer Jagdeep Sidhu penned the script of the movie and Vijay Kumar Arora directed the same. Ammy Virk played the onscreen Harjeet Singh Tuli and his uncanny resemblance with the national player was one of the USPs of the movie.

Another Punjabi biographical movie that brought real on the reel is ‘Dakuan Da Munda’. The movie is an adaptation of Mintu Gurusaria’s novel with the same title, which was his own life story. He is a former Kabaddi player from Gurusar Jodha village, who fought drugs and made way to a new life. Punjabi actor Dev Kharoud essayed the titular role in the movie and his intense and effortless acting made it easy for the audience to connect with the character.

The Gippy Grewal starrer ‘Subedar Joginder Singh’ was a period war drama which brought forward the story of Param Vir Chakra recipient Subedar Joginder Singh Sahnan. The real-life Subedar fought against the Chinese in the Indo-China war of 1962. Despite being heavily outnumbered, he kept the morale up of his battalion and stood against the enemies. Gippy Grewal played the lead role in the movie and brought the valour of Subedar Joginder Singh Sahnan on the big screen.

Another war drama that made it to the silver screen last year was ‘Sajjan Singh Rangroot’. The movie is based on the true life experience of Sikh soldiers who were sent to the Western front from the British Indian Army during World War I. This Pankaj Batra film had Diljit Dosanjh playing the protagonist, and it was a new experience for the audience to catch the intense side of the actor after quite a long stretch.