"I don't let success to conceal my mistakes," says Jagdeep Sidhu on his golden run

Jagdeep Sidhu on his golden run: The writer-director opened up on his Instagram post, brief to Tania, unconventional music and more in a latest interview.

Friday mornings tend to be special for movie enthusiasts. With three outright romantic movies slated to release across languages on the last Friday (Valentine’s Day), i.e., February 14, it was all the more special.

Viewers in Punjab had the option of choosing one (or more) out of Jagdeep Sidhu’s ‘Sufna‘, Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Love Aaj Kal’ and Kranti Madhav’s ‘World Famous Lover’.

Merely hours before the first show around the globe of his fourth Punjabi movie as a director, Sidhu took to his Instagram account to upload posters of all the three movies in a single post. For someone eager to watch Sufna’s morning show, the post came as a surprise and forced me to think as to why the writer-director would remind people about potential competition.

All this obviously happened before I read the caption of his post. Being asked about the same in a latest interview with Punjabi Mania, Sidhu ruled out the feeling of insecurity before uploading the post.

“I have been following Imtiaz Ali sir for a long time now. Have watched all his movies. Having said that, it was such a situation this time that our movies were releasing on the same day. I agree that there was competition but you also have to be honest for something which you’ve followed for so many years,” Sidhu was quoted as saying.

With Sufna doing well on both commercial and critical fronts, Sidhu further talked about receiving heartwarming messages regarding the movie.

“There have been so many messages. The best of them all was a review where they had written Bollywood should learn from such movies. Since I aspire to work in Bollywood, it’s good that people think this way [about my work],” Sidhu said.

Jagdeep Sidhu on his golden run

There is no going into a safe house about the fact that Sufna will go down as actress Tania’s breakthrough movie. Playing a lead role for the first time, Tania provided a rationale as to why it was about time for her to get such roles in the Punjabi film industry.

Tania, who made her acting debut in Sidhu’s blockbuster directorial debut titled ‘Qismat’ (2018), seems to have come of age in her fifth Punjabi movie. Acknowledging the same, Sidhu lauded the actress and disclosed how a workshop in Pondicherry worded wonders for her.

“In my first conversation with Tania [regarding the movie], I conveyed it to her that this movie is all about her character [Teg]. It is a central character and the movie revolves around her. I told her that she will have to work hard on her looks and remain natural at the same time.

“We had thought of experimenting with her look and we did that in the movie. She visited Pondicherry for a workshop 10 days before the shoot began. That workshop helped her immensely with respect to the her body language. I personally believe that some of her scenes during the climax sequence were difficult to shoot but she hardly took a second attempt while shooting,” Sidhu added.

Another thing which can’t be ignored is that each one of Sidhu’s movies has worked exceedingly well in some way or the other. Contrary to the popular perception of an individual learning from his failures, Sidhu laid emphasis on learning from multiple successes in the last 16 months or so.

“By the time my movies release, I come across many shortcomings in them. I try my best to learn from them and make an effort to not repeat them again. Even Sufna has some minor errors. I’m glad that people are liking the movie but deep down I know that things could have been better.

“One thing which I make sure is I don’t let the success of a movie to conceal my mistakes in my own head. Irrespective of the viewers’ response, mistakes remain mistakes and one should learn from them,” Sidhu said with utmost honesty.

“Listeners wait for Jaani’s name in a song”

Sufna wouldn’t have been “Sufna” had it not been for B Praak’s music and Jaani’s lyrics. Continuing their remarkable partnership, the pair registered yet another stupendous performance by leaving a prodigious amount of impact on the movie.

Notwithstanding the supreme quality of the songs, the presence of Hindi lyrics was recorded as a chink in the armour. While there’s nothing wrong in Hindi lyrics in general, hearing them in a movie where characters belong to quintessential villages of Punjab sounded strange.

Another angle where Punjabi lyricists (including Jaani) can be found wanting is when their surname or stage name is heard in movies which talk about wholly different characters. In Sufna, romantic songs involving Jeet [Ammy Virk] and Teg encompassing Jaani’s name didn’t concern Sidhu for he intentionally wanted to “experiment” with the music.

“The songs were purposely written like that [with Hindi lyrics]. Jaani and B Praak are largely known for contemporary music. But that is where the experimentation lies. Sufna’s music is one facet of the movie which everyone is eulogizing about. I believe a conventional approach towards the music would have made things very ordinary. I was aware that this experimentation could have fallen flat. Thankfully, proper execution didn’t let that happen.

“As far as Jaani’s name is concerned, you can also interpret it as the character addressing his/her lover [in the movie]. Secondly, not many lyricists have been able to achieve what Jaani has [achieved] in this field. Listeners literally wait for the line where they will get to hear his name. It is considered to be the best line of the song. It [his name in a song] has a lot of brand value which shouldn’t be ignored,” Sidhu mentioned.

Before concluding, Sidhu was kind enough to reveal the details of his next Punjabi movie. Having announced ‘Qismat 2‘ in September, Sidhu went on to announce ‘Lekh’ on the Christmas eve. While he confirmed that both the movies are the same, the final title and other details are expected to be made public very soon.

About Dixit Bhargav

Editorial team at Punjabi Mania. Passionate about bringing the latest updates from the Punjabi entertainment industry directly to you.