Udta Punjab is typical caricature of Anurag Kashyap. Does that guy function without chutiya for more than ten words. All the verbal MCs, BCs (converted to PC in Punjabi) is true representation of Punjab. But for cinematic and presentation purposes, they could have milder version of the cuss words like bhootni ki is soft and vegetarian version of chutiya. Even my text is also veering towards Anurag Kashyap.
It is actually a salutory job of Abhishek Chaubey, so little time to research and yet he managed to show so many aspect of Punjabis through his hard hitting social drama. The film categorically says no relation of any character to any person living or dead. Initially they show a pole with the advertisement of IELTS imprinted in the background. IN which frame of Punjab, one cannot capture the advertisement of IELTS, everybody wants to go abroad. On Kareena Kapoor’s table, There is another book of GATE or PLAB or some examination to move abroad. Not only uneducated but the educated also hope to settle abroad.
In terms of 360 degree of the problem of drugs in Punjab, they have shown a rockstar, a hockey player who is poor and most of them are, Police who is effervescent in not controlling the smuggling of drugs, the doctor who are trying to treat the addicts, drug dealers and in the background politicians are shown to be running the whole operations and even asking votes for drugs. Like a Bollywood singer, there is no music industry in India but only Bollywood music but Punjab is a place, where there is a singer or a budding singer in every alternate home. More Punjabi music is released in India than all the Bollywood music combined twice over. The way Punjabi singers flaunt their cars, bikes, guns, tattoos, gold, funky hair and designer beards is epic and not to mention drugs. Shahid Kapoor tries to embody the true rockstar from Punjab plus the hallucinations of the addict and also sporting a hair style with word FUDDU inscribed in the hair.
Zameen banjar te aulaad kanjar (Parched land and foolish kids) is the truth about the Punjab. The filmmakers kept the Punjabi words flowing in and around to show the impact of the language and build the right temperament for the scene. Like my friend said, Punjab mein prostitute ko gashti kehte hai (Do you call prostitute as gashti in Punjabi?). His vocabulary of cuss words in multilingual now.
Shahid Kapoor who plays a tattooed rockstar named Tommy Singh, who lives on cocaine, London returned with tattoos, ‘Momma da Boy’ tattooed on his collarbone, moves along with his entourage who are good for nothing. Yet a rockstar in Punjab needs to show his permanent company at every place. His acting is so bang on target as if he is a genuine rockstar, who all are suffering from the problem of drug addiction. The shoes of Tommy Singh, depict he is ready to fly, nobody forgets them. Always flashing V sign with the title given to him, Da Gabru.
Tommy Singh is arrested by the cop Sartaj, who likes to follow the orders as received from the employers (politicians). Sartaj changes when he witnesses his nearly dead brother who adores and a huge fan of Tommy Singh and his ways but lands in hospital due to drug overdose available at local pharmacies in Punjab. Pretty Sahni invokes his conscience, which is not good for his job as his brother ends in drug rehabilitation centre due to drug overdose. Bally is bang on target with his acting and the role and his struggle to leave drugs and also run towards them, which ends up killing the loved ones. Bally is always flying like Tommy Singh from the trip of chitta (Heroin) and does not wish to be bothered from the same. In the meantime, all those who became fan of Sartaj Singh’s (Diljit Dosanjh) acting, should watch Punjab: 1984, another gripping tale of terrorism in Punjab.
All the talk of Alia Bhatt, as I was not tracking those news, and now I understood. Alia Bhatt, the pretty young girl from the Bhatt family has outperformed not only by her standards but by the whole industry standards. Who would dump the glamorous avatars and the comfort to work hard in playing the role of a nobody with a mud face and torn clothes. Who plays a hockey player and yet ends up tilling the fields. It also shows the plight of Hockey players in our country. She is poor and forced into the drug abuse.
Another actors to watch are the Inspector played by Manav Vij, full bearded cop. He looked like a real life cop without any traces of an actor. His acting could not get more close to reality.
Amit Trivedi is a talent scouted and groomed by Anurag Kashyap. His melodies and his music and his voice makes you drool over and you don’t need chitta to trip on it. Add to it the catchy lyrics, talking about drugs and the psychology of an addict. My personal favorite is Da Da Dasee (Stings hard and effectively) by Kanika Kapoor and Babu Haabi. Shiv Kumar Batalvi’s poem, Ikk Kudi is another soul wrenching number. For starters, Shiv Kumar Batalvi is Shakespeare of Punjabi Literature who dies in late 70s or 80s, who wrote poems in love and separation from his love by society and the girl’s father. There is song, Kitte Kalli Behke Sochi Ni, is one song without which no singer in Punjab can complete his career. Everybody leaves with watery eyes or flowing eyes after hearing Batalvi’s poem recitals.
The Controversy
Let’s roll back to the Udta Punjab controversy and the huge battle that was fought in Courts and more extensively in the media. Censor Board is Central Board of Film Certification, whose role is to certify films and not censorsize them. So many Bollywood films have struggled or fought with the Censor Board and yet little people get to know.
But Udta Punjab with its social message became the poster child of agitation against the dictatorial rule of Censor Board. Pahlaj Nihalani, is a good director for the arty films he had directed/written in 1980’s and he showed some of his actresses in the worst vulgar manner possible especially for the times. But I was perplexed he couldn’t not finish two sentences without fumbling and mumbling that they made his Censor Board Chief and all the stupid debauchery that cam from his end. Whether it was politically motivated or not but he had the film makers and the industry with like Satish Kaushik says in the movide, fadd lo tattey (grab my balls).
But the interesting thing in the whole issue is the Freedom of Expression, that why Govt. is toying with the idea every six months, they find some or the other way to experiment as to how people respond to the curtailment of their Fundamental Rights. Mahesh Bhatt said, all this talk to Development has no meaning if we are going to take away the Rights of people to express themselves. Will the Govt. tell us how to react to a situation? To the Govt., you are not chitta that everybody starts floating after consuming it.
Udta Punjab should be given Govt. felicitation for bringing the topic to the core and not Govt. should focus on the problem and make an attempt to save a whole generation in Punjab as clearly it is the leaders in Punjab who are part of the drug problem.
In the whole controversy, people actually forget to talk about the decade old break up of Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor (dumping of Shahid does not sound cool). Censor Board who is teaching morality to an industry are themselves bereft of the same that somehow or the other Udta Punjab was leaked before the release by the Censor Board. To Modiji’s promise, heads should roll. But they can still learn from simple and honest words of Anurag Kashyap:
“I have never downloaded a film on torrent, i don't know how to. yes occasionally i have seen downloaded films borrowed from friends and found a way to pay for them later, by buying them on DVD or BluRay, and when i say this i also say that no one can stop your right to download a film. This time its a different fight, its a fight against censorship and if you are that audience that always downloads a film, then i won't ask you to not do that , please do, but wait till Saturday which is the day you would normally download a film. Piracy happens because of lack of access and in a world of free internet, i do not have a problem with it. My problem is that this time its a case of vested interests trying to demoralize people from fighting for their rights. So all downloaders of Udta Punjab , i urge, wait till Saturday till you decide to not pay for the film, don't download and share , curb the curiosity for two more days. Thank you for reading this.”
