Great show: Punjabi movie Sarabha opens in record theatres in US, Canada

Sarabha, the Punjabi film on young Indian revolutionary Kartar Singh Sarabha, who was hanged by the British at the age of 19 in Lahore in 1915, has drawn a huge response from audiences in Canada and the US as it hit the theatres worldwide on Friday. Sarabha inspired Bhagat Singh to become a revolutionary.

Directed by Los Angeles-based director Kavi Raz, Sarabha is the first-ever Punjabi film (with English subtitles) to open in a record 55 theatres across the US alone. In Canada too, the movie is being screened at multiple theatres in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and other cities.

Enthused by the huge response to his film, director Kavi Raz said, “Sarabha isn’t your typical Punjabi film. It is a historical document on the role of Gadar heroes in India’s Independence. Sarabha was a young boy of just 19, who gave his life for his motherland. He inspired the great revolutionary Bhagat Singh.” Kavi added, “I am overwhelmed by the response to Sarabha. There has been a rush for advanced bookings. It is something new for a Punjabi film in North America. People in cities such as Surrey (Canada) and Fresno (US) printed and distributed posters and flyers to promote this patriotic film.”

After his 2017 film The Black Prince on Maharaja Duleep Singh, Sarabha is Kavi Raz’s second film on historical Punjabi figures.