Movie Review of Punjabi Movie Chauthi Koot, National Award Winner for Best Punjabi Feature Film 2016 starring Suvinder Vikky, Gurpreet Bhangu. Directed by Gurvinder Singh.
Star cast: Suvinder Vikky, Gurpreet Kaur Bhangu, Rajbir Kaur, Harnek Aulakh, Tejpal Singh Rawa, Saranjeet Singh, Gulshan Saggi
Director: Gurvinder Singh
Producer: Kartikeya Narayan Singh
Original Score: Marc Marder
Censor Details: U/A (112 minutes)
Synopsis: Chauthi Koot (The Fourth Direction) tells 2 stories in the era of 1980’s in Punjab. The 1st story is about a militant dehshat in Punjab that prohibited family-owned dogs from barking and the other is about two Hindu friends travelling to Amritsar in a nearly empty train. The plot makes the two stories into one by making one of the friends travelling in the train recounting the first story.
Director Gurvinder Singh who last made Anhey Ghode Da Daan in 2011, returns after a gap of 5 years with yet another brilliant tale to tell. This time he moves into the Era of 1980’s in Punjab, to be specific the Post Operation Blue Star era.
Based on 2 short stories written by Waryam Singh Sandhu, ‘Chauthi Koot’ and ‘Hun Main Theek Thaak Haan’, merged into one feature film, the screenplay of which is very sharply written by the Director himself. Singh manages to tell the tale in a flawless manner with his intelligent writing. The time passes faster than you think it would during the film.
You want to know more about the characters, their journey, what happens to them next, etc… You have questions in mind and the time passes away. Emotions in the film tell more than the dialogues. That is the beauty of this film. Dialogues have been kept realistic and suit the pitch of the film.
Gurvinder Singh uses fear as a character all throughout the film. He sets the film in an era which people refer to as the ‘Blanket of Terror’ for Punjab. You feel for the characters and think about what is going to happen to them next even Tommy (the Dog). You feel for the poor fellow and you want him to be safe just like everyone else.
The opening 5-7 minutes rely completely on background score with no dialogues but they manage to grab the attention of the audience. The film has been shot brilliantly by Satya Rai Nagpaul who does a great job. Many of the shots are a masterpiece.
The star cast comprises mainly of Theatre Actors and 1st timers except for Vikky and Gurpreet Bhangu, who are regular in Punjabi films. Both of the them have done a great job and so have the rest of the cast.
Overall, Chauthi Koot is a masterpiece and raises the bar for Punjabi Cinema. Punjabi Cinema has grown with Chauthi Koot but the audience is still dilettante. No doubt the interest is increasing for Punjabi films worldwide, but it’s films like Chauthi Koot you want to remember and take back with you.
