‘Waris Shah: Ishq Daa Waaris’ was a movie based on Waris Shah, a Punjabi Sufi poet of Chishti order, admired for his contribution to Punjabi literature. It wasn’t entirely a biopic on the legendary poet, but, was solely based on the times when he wrote the poem ‘Heer’. The movie was released on 06/10/2006 and gained accolades in both India and overseas.
Gurdas Maan, Juhi Chawla, Divya Dutta, Sushant Singh, Chetana Das, Deeba and Mukesh Rishi played focal roles in the movie. (Gurdas) ‘Maan sahab’, as he is often known, successfully portrayed the role of Waris Shah. The on-screen version of Waris Shah required a merger of music and piousness and, perhaps, no one better than Gurdas Maan has those qualities in the Punjabi industry.
Juhi Chawla was casted as Bhagpari, the girl Waris Shah fell in love with. At the same time, the girl who got attracted to Waris and was of the mind to do anything to get him was Saabo (Divya Dutta). The story starts with how and why Waris reached village Malkan Hans to began his journey of Heer. A lot of emphasis is also laid on how Saabo tries various unsuccessful ways to get Waris’ attention.
What comes as a huge convolution in the movie is when one comes to know that Bhagpari and Saabo’s brother (Sushant Singh) had been betrothed since childhood and Bhagpari has no option than to marry him. It was at this time that Waris Shah made his mind that in order to complete Heer, he will have to let Bhagpari go. Diverging from her attraction to Waris, Saabo also bows down in front of her fate.
The movie was directed by late Manoj Punj who had paired up with Gurdas Mann and Divya Dutta in his earlier movies, namely ‘Shaheed-E-Mohabbat Boota Singh’, ‘Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai’ and ‘Des Hoya Pardes’. Barring Zindagi Khoobsoorat Hai, all other movies have been National Award-winning ones. Punj, 36, died due to cardiac arrest, days after the release of Waris Shah: Ishq Daa Waaris. His unfortunate death came as a huge loss to the industry.
The movie was produced by Gurdas Mann’s wife, Manjeet Mann, under the banner of Sai Productions. The movie was musically directed by Jaidev Kumar.
The movie’s success was not limited pecuniary benefits. It went on to to win four awards at 54th National Film Awards. Gurdas Maan received the award for Best Male Playback Singer for reciting the couplets of Heer. Rashid Rangrez won the award for Best Art Director. Manjeet Mann won the award for Best Costume Design. The movie also won the award for Best Feature Film in Punjabi. All in all, the movie won the joint-highest number (four) of awards during the awards ceremony.
The movie was one of India’s entries to the 79th Academy Awards. It competed in various categories, viz. Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Costumes. Gurdas Mann also won the Best Actor award in Berlin Asia Pacific Film Festival.
