Maawan Thandian Chaawan was one Punjabi film, which released during the troubled time of 1984 and damaged its prospective box office status.
The film directed by Sukhdev Ahluwalia, starred Satish Kaul, Raza Murad, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Surinder Kaur, Anita Sarin, Mehar Mittal, Yash Sharma, Sudha Chopra, Ved Goswami, Kanchan Mattu, Neena Cheema, Murad, Surinder Walia and Ranjeet in leading roles along with cameo appearances by Kuldeep Manak and Kuldeep Kaur.
GhaintPunjab got in touch with one of Maawan Thandian Chhawan’s producer, Harbhajan Singh Gill who spilled the beans on making of the film.
“I was making my first film ‘Jindri yaar Di’ and 2 songs were recorded. I liked the name Mawan Thandian Chaawan which was registered by Dalwinder Sohal, and he refused to give me the rights as he also had recorded music for Maawan Thandian Chhawan by Alla Rakha who was part of Ravi Shankar troupe. Few months passed, and he approached me, and we agreed to work together and finish ‘Jindri Yaar Di’ first and then will start working on Maawan Thandian Chhawan.”
Singapore based Harry Zohal had acted as a child artist in the film.
“I played the young Raza Murad in the film. I got the film as I was known to producer Dalwinder Singh Sohal. Then he introduced me to director Sukhdev Singh Ahluwalia, who then had a general talk with me and based on that he felt I was fit to play the part. Although there was no screen test or audition, but just a formal talk. To prepare me and two other kids for the role, he made us watch one of his children’s film, “Sajjre Phull”. I had shot a couple of scenes with Mr. Kulbhushan Kharbanda, but most of those scenes got edited due to the length of the film,” he recalled.
On the film’s reception, Harbhajan Singh Gill says
“Maawan Thandian Chhawan’ opened to a very good response, and it remained houseful for ten days. It was released in Oct 1984. While the film was running to packed houses, the assassination of the then Prime Minister Mrs Indra Gandhi took place and all the films were taken off due to the political issues for a few months. Distributors did not release it again.
It was a well-made film and matched up to the level of ‘Chann Pardesi’
Maawan Thandian Chhawan was a well-made film for that time, which did not get its due to tense times. Later on, it did get popular on the VHS circuit during the peak VCR era.
The producer duo Dalwinder Singh Sohal and Harbhajan Singh Gill had also produced Hindi film Farz Ki Jung with big stars Shashi Kapoor, Govinda, Neelam and Amrish Puri and also Do Jism Ek Jaan Hai Hum & Ishq Na Puche Jaat. They are next working on the subject of Komagata Maru.
Trivia
1. It had released close to Hindi films like Aaj Ki Awaz, Andar Bahar, Awaz, Duniya etc.
2. Initially, classical music director Allah Rakha was finalized for the music, but ultimately Surinder Kohli composed for the film.
3. The film was mainly shot in and around Khanna, Punjab.
4. Kuldeep Manak and Kuldeep Kaur appeared in the film for an Akhara performance.
5.Natraj Cinema(Khanna) owners were associated with the film.
