Movie review of Punjabi Film ‘Golak Bugni Bank Te Batua’.

Star Cast: Harish Verma, Simi Chahal, Jaswinder Bhalla, B.N. Sharma, Anita Devgan, Sumit Gulati, Gurshabad, Amrinder Gill and Aditi Sharma.

Director: Ksshitij Chaudhary

Producer: Karaj Gill and Talwinder Hayre

Music: Jatinder Shah

Genre: Drama, Romance

Running Time: 130 minutes (U/A certified)

In Golak Bugni Bank Te Batua, Ksshitij Chaudhary has continued from where he had left last year, i.e., in the saddle of a complete entertainer. For all we know, what made him win the award for the Best Director was the way in which he amalgamated light-heartedness into a far-reaching topic in 'Vekh Baraatan Challiyan'. Keeping the amusement and the denouement as constant, the topic of consequence is the variable in Golak Bugni Bank Te Batua. The director has once again stood tall on the expectations bestowed upon him.

The movie is a lampoon of demonetisation which happened for the second time in India in November 2016. It covers the various issues which the common public of the nation had to face after the decision to ban a certain currency notes was announced. The whole scenario has been portrayed in a manner that should not appear objectionable to anyone. What is affected the most in this movie through demonetisation is the love story of its leading pair.

Before the release of the movie, there was a lot of hullabaloo regarding the role of Amrinder Gill in the movie. Constant efforts put in the movie to make a connect with the two parallel stories are visible on the screen, which undeniably happens for the overall good of the movie.

One aspect of the movie which could have worked upon in a more effective way was the love story of Harish Verma (Neeta Sachdeva) and Simi Chahal (Mishri Aneja). Writing straight from the shoulder, their courtship lacked nuances of a prototypical romantic relationship to the extent that it appeared more of a forced tie-up on screen. Dheeraj Rattan, who has made a comeback in the field of writing after a couple of years, has left this chink in the armour in a story which is otherwise worth the praise.

Putting light on the actors, both Harish Verma and Simi Chahal were upright in their respective roles. Watching him for all these years, one certainly feels that his career has done injustice to his craft. But, a lot has also to do with the kind of movie that he is offered. A frisky and peppy Simi Chahal was outstanding in her role opposite to Harish Verma. As expected, Jaswinder Bhalla (Chaman Lal Sachdeva) and B.N. Sharma (Satpal Aneja) were the backbone of the movie, especially when it came to the comical part of it. Anita Devgan (Usha) was a tad underused in the movie. With someone of her stature on board, the director and the writer could have done more in the movie.

The chemistry between Amrinder Gill (Bhola) and Aditi Sharma (Shindi) was palpable of the fact that even a short role can exert influence on the overall story. A pristine Bhola was awe-inspiring whenever he came on screen.

Sumil Gulati (Golu) and Rajesh Sharma, who have worked in several Hindi movies, made their respective debut in the Punjabi industry with Golak Bugni Bank Te Batua. Golu's role as the son of Usha was portrayed amusingly. Rajesh Sharma, on the other hand, had very less to play with in his special appearance. Singer-turned-actor Gurshabad, another debutant in the movie, donned the coat of an actor will full grace.

Watch Golak Bugni Bank Te Batua for an absolute experience which comprises of light entertainment but also hits with a couple of lesson which are high on scrupulous values.