Punjabiyat, Puneet style
Ashima Sehajpal

Apna Punjab hove

Puneet rues the fact that no Sikh Character in any movie has been even given a performance-oriented role. "Even Singh is Kinng has many fools. The film is being made for the pride of the Sikhs, where they will be shown in a different light. There will be no turbaned comedians, only serious characters." Maximum part of the film has been shot in America and rest in Punjab. In no mood to reveal much about the film, all he obliges us with is, "It is about a family from Chandigarh, based in America and the problems they suffer abroad."

The cast of the film is yet to make its debut on the silver screen, which Puneet says was a conscious decision, "I wanted people to come to see the film, appreciate performance not watch a hit actor shake a leg. There are two male leads and the female lead is a Canadian, who was also former Miss UK."

Janta janardhan

His first film, Garv, Pride and honour was given poor rating by the critics, which he claims enjoyed massive box office collections. "We can take examples of many such films. Sholay was declared a flop, so was Raaz and Gadar that came many years later. Critics review is their personal perspective." He leaves it all to audiences who he says judge the films better, "They want value of their ticket. If you are able to deliver that, the film is an assured hit and even promotion isn't required." But then we often see production houses extensively market the film, "Promotions help fill the cinema hall for the first three days of the film. Once audiences get an idea of how it is, even money spent on promotions go waste."

Mythology matters

He isn't happy about the mythology soaps that are on air these days. "The producers might be technologically sound but then unless you don't have a script to support, it hardly matters." Reminiscing his old Mahabharta days, he questions, "Where is the research work? How can you make serials on epics without doing groundwork? It's unfortunate that commercial prospects determine the story of the soaps." And then today, the actors have to 'work hard' in too many soaps at a time unlike the earlier days when actors practiced their characters for hours before the shooting.

Pack-aged well

Some three decades back, when probably nobody was a six-pack aspirant, Puneet Issar stood out. The Duryodhan of Mahabharta however never intended to inspire anybody but feels he should have, "I had six packs when people hadn't heard about it. Today every youngster flaunts it. But more important is internal fitness," says Puneet, who's also is a marshal arts black belt.

ashima@tribunemail.com

Manuscript to script
 S.D. Sharma

Matka chowk
Seniors shining
Sreedhara Bhasin

The word 'senior citizen' has a whole new meaning in our city. In some corners of India, it may be a convenient label for awarding rail discounts and IT exemptions, in Chandigarh, it denotes a class of people who know how to live life to the fullest.

I know some truly amazing senior citizens in our city. They are cerebrally superior and physically fitter than many young folks who sit at the steps overlooking the Sukhna Lake. I know of octogenarians who can do eighteen holes of golf, rain or shine and play four sets of tennis in long volleys. Some are out in the morning on their sports bicycles and some put on their roller skates and enjoy the morning mist.

The administration recently announced a new policy for the senior citizens. They can now obtain stickers for their vehicles that will allow them to park in designated places without having to buy a parking ticket. I think that is an excellent idea. In the mad rush of grabbing parking spots (sometimes it reminds me of a feeding frenzy in shark infested waters) - the most indecent ones usually emerge as the winners. And most of the senior citizens are far too decent to even stand a chance.

On my morning walks, I have met some extraordinary people who may technically be called 'seniors' - but, never old. I have met people who have indomitable spirit and have chosen to beat all that came their way - cancer, death, partition and temporary indigence. Their stories as well as boisterous laughter have inspired me profoundly. They are all winners in their own way.

Most of our seniors are in awesome physical state. They walk the parks in the mornings, hang out at gyms and do endless chest presses. They enjoy outings in groups, exchanging stock market updates, jokes on Obama's haircut and Mr. Rakhi Sawant's future.

Some of the seniors of our city built this city. They are a powerhouse of knowledge and wisdom, which they share with all. They offer their services to the society for generosity comes to them easily. They also practice many other virtues that the non-seniors are quickly forgetting - kindness, dignity, belief in rendering opportunities and a helping hand, pride in one's self-worth and above all, being a good human being.

I have the greatest admiration for most of these stalwarts. I am not very fond of the blanket term 'seniors' that we use for people above a certain age. I know of many such people whose DOB is just a number and has no connection to their 'living' age. They party till late night and finish their yoga before catching an early flight the next morning (and beating me at Sudoku on the flight). They celebrate life with the due respect and are a shining example for all of us.

matkachowk@gmail.com

Writing to reportage
 S.D. SHARMA

Her cause on canvas
 Ashima Sehajpal

Use as many mediums as possible, books, conferences, speeches, street plays, documentaries, media…till the message to fight against female foeticide, infanticide, illiteracy, dowry, equal rights for women reaches male chauvinists.

"The efforts have to be consistent", asserts Tirthankar Bhattacharya, an art curator who along with 34 participanting artists is contributing to the vital cause through She, an art exhibition.

It took Tirthankar long hours of interaction and a few visits to the homes of every artist to collect the right artwork that complemented the theme. "People usually have the misconception that if an art exhibition is themed around the girl child, every painting has to have a female figure."

Thus, the selection of art goes beyond the obvious. He explains the rest, "B. Malhotra is a landscape artist who, in his painting, has painted turmoil in the sky. It's a metaphor to denote the ordeals a woman goes through in her life." Artist Pramod Arya has a done a whirlpool, depicting the life of a women. Shuchi has done abstract art, a ring is made with different traditional motifs that portray how a woman is caught in the ring and has to abide by society's norms.

One can also notice the regional influences in the art works of different artists, "That further proves that women in all parts of India suffer the same hardships," adds he.

In Anand Shinde's artwork, the Marathi influence was evident wherein the female figure in the regional costume is holding an empty bowl with a just a few wheat chaffs in it. "It's an allegory of the unfulfilled desires of a women, who can't change the things around her, unless society supports her." Kumudhi Prajapati's work, a graphic print, reflects a strong Goan influence, from where she belongs. It shows a woman with all contemporary motifs like cars, boats and houses drawn around her, but how she still has to suppress her aspirations to raise a male child.

Besides the usual acrylic works, also on display are semi collages. "The idea was to promote the cause through different forms of visual arts. Rina Bhatnagar and Sonal A Singh have made collages on the same theme." And so has Anjali S.Aggarwal, who on a wide sheet of cloth has pasted an array of small paintings. "Eyes of Goddess Durga, trishul, foot imprints of Goddess Lakshmi, even a small drawing with the European influence of an angel, all the depictions are associated with fertility and thus with women," says Trithankar.

Artworks from private collections are also a part of the exhibition. Works of Jatin Das's a female face, Sudhir Khastagir's dancers on hardboard, Aditya Prakash's Ganesha with the hand of Chandigarh and Amba Das' abstract work will be displayed here.

On till August 23, at the Government

Museum and Art Gallery-10

Small package, big surprise
 Johnson Thomas

A scene from the movie Sikandar

Sikandar is a small, surprisingly eloquent film. I say 'surprisingly eloquent' because before this film, Piyush Jha, the director, had made Chalo America a crass comedy, which barely had a few days run at the theatres. But Sikandar is not in the same league. With this film Piyush shows that he has matured as a director, sincere in his pursuit of a good story. This film has a very good story and Piyush's narrative eschews complexity, preferring to tell this story of near heartrending tragedy in a simple and effectively substantive way.

The film begins with a bang- a football lying in a market place is kicked and explodes only to kill all who are around. That sequence sets the tone of what came next. The shocking story of an innocent young orphan boy who gets lured by terrorists only to escape… Sikandar (Parzan Dastur) is an orphan who lives with his loving relatives. He is football crazy and one day on his way to the football ground far away from his home, he comes across a gun. Sikandar picks it up and hides it in his bag thinking that he could use it to scare the bullies at school who were making his life difficult. It helps him too. But when his path crisscrosses that of Zahgeer (Arunoday Singh), a militant leader who promises to get him some money, which he needs to buy his aunt a much-needed washing machine, he falls into a trap. He becomes a puppet in Zahgeer's hands and Zahgeer wants him to assassinate a former militant Mukhtar Mattoo (Sanjay Suri) and Sikandar accedes. He even makes an attempt at the market, but his friend Nasreen (Ayesha Kapoor) who knows about his plan, prevents it from happening.

The film is a thriller of sorts and Piyush Jha gives out a few clues at several points, just to keep the interest going. The Kashmir problem, which is central to the theme, is projected with, as much objectivity as possible and so is the role of the army. The good and the bad have equal weightage. All the characters (save for the hardcore militants) are sympathetic. The manner in which Piyush has framed the narrative you can be sure that he has been creatively inspired by Makmalbaf's movies. Like in Makmalbaf's films- Nature has a voice, children are central to the story, the narrative is kept simple and engaging and the performances are true and heartfelt. Even the beguiling plot twists are similar. But Piyush is not a master craftsman like Makmalbaf. He falters when it comes to connecting the different plot strands. As a result, what should have arrived gradually appears forced and manipulated. He uses a background score that is loud and discordant to provide the tension. That's a trick that went out in the 80's. Only a director who is unsure of his plotting would succumb to such an ingratiating score. The film could have done better with a bit more tension instead. This is one film that needs to be watched…at least more than a Kaminey or Kambakht Ishq!