Jun 22, 2016 05:22 PM
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The drama that unfolded in the whole circus around ‘Udta Punjab’, the intention of its makers and the potential repercussions this ‘inflammatory propaganda piece’ disguised as a work of art could have on the state of Punjab and for it.
Seems like an exercise in futility because right from the get-go, the film is an honest and unflinching portrayal of the drug menace that engulfs the state.
Shahid Kapoor’s Tommy Singh, ‘The Gabru’, is a cocaine addict, well past his prime but still able to sell records because of his on-stage antics. Alia Bhatt, the girl with no name, is a migrant worker from Bihar who unwittingly becomes a part of the deadly circle of heroin smuggling. Diljit Dosanjh’s policeman Sartaj Singh is but a pawn in the gargantuan chess board of smuggling and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Dr. Preet Sahni is waging a war on the whole system through her own efforts.
What transpires on the screen is something that we as viewers have either seen or at the least heard about one way or another and this is the movie’s biggest strength. This is what helps us to both distinguish as well as connect fact and fiction as we perceive the goings-on.
The movie very smartly focuses on the state of Punjab and the movement of drugs therein. Now, some may call such a portrayal politically motivated but for me, it is simply akin to a finely crafted piece of clothing from a fictional yarn. The pacing of the movie is brisk and it touches all the points of a movie starring some of the biggest names of Hindi and Punjabi films. But there are some exceptionally well-written scenes that showcase the power of writing.
