Director Gabbar Sangrur, who will soon release his film White Punjab, says he loves exploring the 'pinds' of Punjab and has never harboured dreams of moving abroad

Mona

Passionate about filmmaking, director, writer and producer Gabbar Sangrur is in love with the genre of dark comedy. Scope for some punches and an opportunity to bring societal issues on to the screen, Gabbar is ready with his second project as a director — White Punjab.

A film, which is based on gang wars in Punjab, is a dream project for Gabbar. “I had the first draft of the story with me in 2019. To begin with, I wanted to make a Hindi film on it. Gang wars are a reality in Punjab and I wanted to highlight them,” says Gabbar. Two infamous broad daylight killings in Punjab brought the issue into focus and Gabbar made up his mind to highlight it in Punjabi. “It was a story of the state. The two murders got national and international attention, so I decided to make it in Punjabi.”

Due for a release in October, a multi-starrer, White Punjab marks the debut of singer Kaka, and stars Kartar Cheema, Rabbi Kandola, Daksshjit Singh and Yasmeen in the lead roles. Gabbar started his innings with theatre in his hometown, Lehragaga, Sangrur. After completing a Masters degree from the Indian Theatre Department, Panjab University, he started a group, The Theatre Army, in 2007. Always fond of writing and direction, he also did a certificate course in Urdu. Setting up his base in Mohali, he started line production and has to his credit English film West Is West and the Punjabi movie Mastaney. Meghna Gulzar’s Sam Bahadur, Imtiaz Ali’s Chamkila and John Abraham’s The Diplomat are some of his other upcomingprojects as a line producer.

Digital route

He has also written and directed the web series Gangland in Motherland, which was released on YouTube. The obvious next step was big screen and he debuted as a film producer with Jalwayu Enclave. “It was a film set during the Covid time, and has times have been preserved those strange times in the film. It is available on Amazon Prime.”

As for White Punjab, he is also the writer and producer of the film. Pollywood is dominated by comedy dramas, but Gabbar knows his genre well, “Films are for entertainment, but what works even better is if they can expose societal ills and work towards finding a solution.”

When not working, Gabbar loves to explore the pinds of Punjab. “I am interested in its history and historical sites.” And no, unlike most Punjabi, he isn’t dreaming of Canada. “I feel fortunate to be born here, and here I will breathe my last,” signs off Gabbar, whose next is called Chaa Coffee, a family drama.