‘Punjabi Yash Chopra’

HE is the Yash Chopra of Punjab’s fledgling film industry. Manmohan Singh is called so because as he has also worked as a cinematographer with the Yash Raj banner for nearly 25 years.

It has been seven years since Manmohan Singh made his first Punjabi film Jee Ayan Nu, which was a slow-starter but turned out to be a hit. He has not looked back since and has been credited with giving a new face to Punjabi films single-handedly with Asa Nu Mann Watana Da, Yaaran Naal Baharaan, super hit Dil Apna Punjabi, Mitti Wajan Mardi and Mera Pind – My Home which had a successful run all over Punjab recently.

Manmohan Singh says, "I feel there’s a need to to make a lot of good movies to bring a substantial and successful change in the Punjabi film industry."

This change is something, which is very close to Manmohan Singh’s heart. That is is the reason he came back to Punjab from Bollywood, he says. "I have always believed that there is no other state like Punjab. Our culture, food and liberal lifestyle have been a source of envy to all. However, I felt this was not being reflected either in Punjabi or Hindi movies".

The director-cinematographer says earlier the emphasis in Punjabi films was on portraying the macho image of jats with most movies even having names like Jatt Da Badla, Jatt Da Gandasa, Putt Jattan De. Hindi movies, too, tended to caricature Sikhs. "I wanted to make a clean break from such crude names and presentation of the Punjabis and so was born Jee Ayan Nu, a family entertainer, which gave a perspective on how we look at NRIs. This film was followed by Maan Watana Da, which was essentially Jee Ayan Nu part two. Manmohan Singh’s third movie Yaaran Naal Baharan with Jimmy Shergill and Juhi Babbar looked at modern-day campus life in Punjab, something that had never been portrayed earlier in Punjabi films. This movie was followed by one of his biggest hits Dil Apna Punjabi which is the story of a native’s return to his homeland.

His film Mitti Wajan Mardi portrayed rural life in a small village in Bathinda. Similarly, his latest hit Mera Pind- My Home concentrated on issues and characters other than NRI ones. "The story has been in my mind for a long time. I wanted to show how Punjabi villagers were shying away from menial jobs back home but were doing the same work abroad. Then why not here? I felt that something had gone wrong with our Punjabi society as well as the jat’s psychology with village youth finding it humiliating to wash their own car or tractor here. So the storyline of this film was born and it has had its desired result with village youth in Patiala picking up brooms to clean up their village," he added.