Category: Movies

[h4]Today’s release, Punjabi period drama movie Blackia receives appreciation for its unique storyline and proficient acting skills of the star-cast. [/h4]

For last few years we’ve seen many Punjabi period movies but most of them have run around the themes of weddings and romance. In fact, so far we’ve not seen any true-blue action period drama on the Punjabi big screen. However, ending our wait, today the much-awaited film of Dev Kharoud after Kaka Ji, Blackia produced by Vivek Ohri in association with PTC Motion Pictures and directed by veteran filmmaker Sukhminder Dhanjal has finally hit the silver screen.

 A Punjabi period drama movie, Blackia narrated the journey of Gurnam Singh, a young boy who hails his roots from a family which deals with gold smuggling and as destiny would have it, the boy becomes a victim to circumstances and the story further unfolds.

Distributed by Global Moviez, BLACKIA caters to that era of Indian history when the border between India and Pakistan was unfenced and a lot of gold smuggling happened from Afghanistan to India via Pakistan. 

Playing the role of Gurnam Singh, Dev Kharoud was spotted partaking in various action – packed scenes which were appreciated by the audiences. 

To his parallel was Indian actress, Ihana Dhillon who was seen in Punjabi movies after a long haul, but nevertheless she didn’t lose her sheen. Her beautiful chemistry with Dev initiated a new found love for the on-screen jodi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm5M0vfzQl4

BLACKIA presents Dev Kharoud in once again that “angry young man” mode – giving him ample screen presence and scope to perform. 

The movie is shot in the typical 70s style Bollywood film reminding one of those Amitabh Bachchan films wherein he bashed the baddies down effortlessly. Be it the hairstyles of the actors (including Ihana Dhillon’s elevated puff trailed by a long “braid” ponytail and not to miss, the omnipresent “gulaab ka phool”) or the model of cars, the outfits (printed shirts of the heroes and tight kameez of the heroine) – everything seems to be worked out in detail, in this film replete with enough retro drama. 

National award winning director Sukhminder Dhanjal who has helmed Blackia, it seems has given his all in making the film look as realistic as possible. We believe that the robust dialogues and crackling action would help the film fetch a great word of mouth for itself. 

The movie also stars Ashish Duggal, Rana Jung Bahadur and Lucky Dhaliwal in pivotal roles who have all interestingly given an applauseworthy yet different performance this time. 

Rating: 3.5/5

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With inputs by Harman Dhanjal

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There are some films that belong to a genre of their own. Manje Bistre 2 is one of them! This Baljit Singh Deo directorial starring Gippy Grewal and Simi Chahal in the lead roles isn’t your regular Punjabi wedding based comedy. Taking a cue from the original (Manje Bistre 2017), Manje Bistre 2 is an atmosphere (mahaul) based film that you can best enjoy if you think you’re a part of the family shown in the movie. 

Written and produced by Gippy Grewal himself, Manje Bistre 2 provides a reasonably decent mix of Punjabi culture and comedy. One situation leads to another with the underlying theme of merging East and West – Punjabi culture amalgamated with Canadian sensibilities! 

While on one side, the members of the family belonging to the older generation find it hard to keep Punjab out of their hearts despite having moved to the West, the younger generation wants to adopt the Western way of life, finding no meaning in our traditions and elaborate wedding rituals. How these two generations come together and accomplish an almost impossible task of organising a wedding merging both the cultures, is what Manje Bistre 2 all about. 

Saadhu Halwai played by Karamjit Anmol was a significant and probably the most memorable character in the Original and this time also he gives a performance that’s unbeatable. Gippy Grewal performs well. Despite being the “hero” of the film, director Baljit Singh Deo doesn’t offer him any special screen space and the man does best in whatever role is given to him. Simi Chahal is decent while B.N. Sharma definitely makes you laugh tremendously throughout the film. Rest of the cast is good enough but the cutest is Jaggi Singh who impresses us with his cute Punjabi with a Canadian twang! 

Manje Bistre 2 isn’t a pathbreaking film as opposed to its original which was a trendsetter and brought a whole new wave of wedding based films in Punjabi cinema. While Gippy Grewal definitely shines as an actor but as a writer, you might be a bit disappointed in him this time as the movie doesn’t really have an outstanding storyline. Comparing Manje Bistre 2 with Gippy Grewal’s earlier films (as a writer) like Mar Gaye Oye Loko and Ardaas, this one doesn’t stand at par. 

Though you can definitely enjoy Manje Bistre 2 with your families and your kids might end up learning new things about Punjabi culture and life of Punjabis in Canada, yet it isn’t a film that’d either send you rolling with laughter or make you sentimental at any point. It’s a family movie presenting “natural”, light-hearted humour without being loud or over-creative. It presents family situations that you can definitely relate to, but don’t expect much from its storyline. 

Our Rating: 3/5

P.S: While watching Manje Bistre 2 in the theatres, you shall also get a glimpse of Gippy Grewal-Sargun Mehta starrer – Chandigarh-Amritsar-Chandigarh as its teaser was shown during the interval. This was certainly a treat to watch and we can surely say that Chandigarh-Amritsar-Chandigarh is a film worth “desperately” waiting for! 

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A film which feasts the eyes, tugs at the heartstrings, deals with a strong subject, delivers an important message, without anywhere missing out on the “entertainment” quotient, is how we can describe Rakesh Mehta’s YAARA VE in one sentence! 

Produced by Bally Singh Kakar, Yaara Ve revolves around a simple theme of friendship that stands the test of time. However, the differentiator here is that this friendship is between three friends belonging to three different religions – a Hindu, a Sikh and a Muslim. Sounds a little like a rairty in today’s times? However, back in Punjab before partition, this is how the way of life was, wherein it didn’t matter which sect or religion you came from, as “Punjabi” was the only identification that people of that beautiful era knew of.

For those who maybe imagining Yaara Ve to be a little on the sombre side of things as it touches a sensitive theme of partition should be rest assured after reading our review as this film only brushes past this subject like a tangent, and is far from evoking any harrowing memories of those times. 

In fact, film Yaara Ve can be well regarded as a “need-of-the-hour” kind of film considering the unrest we are experiencing in our country when it comes to the issue of “religion”. The film effectively portrays how life was simple and joyful during the months preceding the partition with the innocent people hardly knowing anything about the politics of the issue. 

Rakesh Mehta and team have effectively shown the ground-reality of Punjabi during those days and the fact that it was never Punjabis who wanted partition, but ironically, they were the ones who suffered the most. 

Talking about the technical aspects of the film, Yaara Ve scores full points here. Each and every frame of the film is a treat to watch suggesting top-notch cinematographic skills and the hardwork that went into creating the stunning sets. A big round of applause for the Art Department here. 

While many might find the first half a little dragged, the second half is gripping enough to compensate for that. The dialogues and the music both help in carrying forward the story and thankfully, the situations are pleasant enough to make us laugh without the aid of a plethora of comic one-liners. 

Acting department is decent enough. There’s no one in the film that you can pinpoint and say that they didn’t fit into their character. Every actor seems to be well-fitted into their roles. While Monica Gill looks splendid in traditional outfits, Raghveer Boli makes his special presence felt with his awesome acting skills. Gagan Kokri seems to have improved a lot since his ‘Laatu’ days. Yuvraj is always an amazing actor to see whenever he comes on screen. 

Veterans have done what they were supposed to do. No one stands out in any special way though. 

Overall, Yaara Ve is a light-hearted family entertainer with the “Punjab of 1947” as its backdrop. Do not expect this film to highlight any socio-political matters of those times. 

Iampunjaabi.com Rating: 3.5/5