Author: Gurwinder Lotey
Amar Singh Chamkila has been one of the most celebrated singers that Punjab has ever produced. He was popularly known as ‘Elvis Of Punjab’. Unfortunately, the singer was shot dead with his wife at the age of 27. However, in his short career span, he created massive records and left legacy behind to be cherished by the generations. It was his popularity that late Bollywood actress Sridevi also wanted to work with him. A friend of Amar Singh Chamkila and veteran lyricist Sawaran Sivia in one of the interviews revealed, “Sridevi was a fan of Amar Singh Chamkila. She asked…
Born in Varanasi, Padma Khanna’s real name was Madhu. Once, she confided to her widow mother that she wants to learn dance. Instead of opposing what was going in her mind, her mother took her to Pandit Krishan Maharaj (brother of Sitara Devi and Uncle of Birju Maharaj) who hesitantly agreed to teach her dance as Padma was a plump child and looked like a non-serious learner. But eventually Padma turned out to be a brilliant student. Thereafter, she started doing stage shows and finally got noticed by star actress like Vyanjayanthimala, who suggested her to get into films. While…
Sadda Haq, a film which depicted the militancy period of 80s & 90s in Punjab courageously. Presenting such a true picture of the era was not an easy journey for the makers. We talked to its producer & lead actor Kuljinder Singh Sidhu to know about their tough fight for Sadda Haq. How did the concept of Sadda Haq materialize? I had seen and heard a lot about what was happening at that time and wanted to make a film on it. Few years after settling up my ad agency, I made some savings and felt it was time. I reached…
Noted Hindi TV actress Dolly Sohi passed away after battling cancer. She had started her acting career with Punjabi films in the late 90s.Dolly had done Punjabi films like Dildara and America before moving to Hindi TV serials. Her work can be seen in hit tele-serials like Kalash, Kkusum, Bhabhi, Hitler Didi and many more. After her marriage Dolly moved to Canada but returned after facing trouble in her personal life. Hukumat Jatt Di Director Chander Bahl Has Passed Away She ventured back into TV serials and was actively doing her work in the series Piya Abhimani as the lead…
Shakti Kapoor, at the very initial phase of his career had worked as the lead hero in a Punjabi film. The revelation came from the man himself during a recent interview.Recently, Shakti Kapoor revealed on a show that at the initial stage of his career, he decided to turn Hero and stopped accepting negative roles.One of his first attempts at being the lead hero was in a film called ‘Zakhmee Insaan’ (1982) opposite Rama Vij. Both were dating at that time. But the debacle of the film put a question mark to his chance of being the lead actor. Shakti…
Born in Amritsar, Superstar Rajesh Khanna, originally named Jatin, was adopted as a child and raised by Chunnilal Khanna, a railway contractor. Chunnilal was a relative of Jatin’s biological parents. Here’s How Ranbir Kapoor Reacted When Animal Actor Promised To Gift Raha A Kada Before joining the film world, Jatin was even called ‘Kaka’ by his family and close friends. The name was given to him due to his baby face, a Punjabi term for a baby.The family had moved to Mumbai where Jatin completed his studies after which he developed an interest in acting. He even got selected in…
In the year 1964, Rajinder Singh Bedi started a Hindi-Punjabi bilingual film titled Rano. It starred Geeta Bali, Dharmendra and Meena Rai and was an adaption of his novel Ek Chadar Maili Si. Unfortunately, during the shoot of the film in Punjab, Geeta Bali got smallpox and passed away (in 1965) leaving behind her most ambitious film hanging mid air. Almost two decades later, in the year 1986, a film with the same title was released and it was directed by debutante director Sukhwant Dhadda. Sukhwant, an FTII passout, had previously directed Hindi-Punjabi films like Siyasat, Antim Nyay, Pind Di Kudi, Choodian, to name a few, but…
Do you know megastar Amitabh Bachchan had done a Punjabi Film at peak of his filmcareer? The film was Walayati Babu which was produced by Punjabi Comic Legend MeharMittal and it had Mittal in the titular role of Walayati Babu opposite actress Rita Haksar(daughter of yesteryear actress Manorama) while Amitabh Bachchan was in a cameo only. The filmalso had the presence of superstar actress Reena Roy in it. It has been observed with keeninterest of cine lovers that both Amitabh Bachchan and Reena Roy were never pairedromantically in any Hindi Film, despite working together in films like Naseeb &Andha Kanoon.…
Jab We Met is a cult classic of the modern times. While the iconic character Geet played by Kareena Kapoor is widely discussed on social media, Aditiya Dharamraj Kashyap (Shahid Kapoor) and Anshuman (Tarun Arora) are talked about in the same breath as two of the men Geet fell in love with. But they were not the only two men in her life, Manjeet Singh Maan-her childhood friend was one of the suitors her family had selected her for. In the film, the dramatic character of Geet happily opted for engagement with Manjeet Singh, but in the back of her…
Back in the days, Chadi Jawani Budhe Nu was a famous Punjabi Theatre play and Delhi based Sapru House was known forPunjabi plays.FC Mehra,a famous Hindi Film Producer, had his own chain of cinemas in Bombay & Delhi. He would often visit Delhi and during one such visit he got to watch the play “Chadi Jawani Budhe Nu”. He was a big shot in the Hindi Film fraternity but even then chose to make a Punjabi film based on this play and that too with the same title.Chadhi Jawani Budhe Nu StarcastChadhi Jawani Budhe Nu had BK Sood, Kimti Anand, Dheshi…