The metamorphosis of Punjabi actresses

The metamorphosis of Punjabi actresses: The leading ladies of our industry got numerous opportunities qualitatively for a change.

"It is high time that Punjabi writers stop writing middling and uninspired characters for women," read a line in our article from last year on habits which the Punjabi industry should discontinue. A prominent habit among these six habits was script writers continually writing run-of-the-mill female characters.

Punjabi actresses' augmented hunger for meatier roles received some respite on the back of assignments which came their way in 2019. Despite some of them doing exceedingly well on paper over the years, there is no denying to the fact that only a few of them played the "lead role" in its true sense.

The problem never lied in the lack of craft on the part of these actresses but was more related to the people who were writing roles for them. Writers repeatedly portraying actresses as mere love interest of their male leads and not even attempting to try something different has changed to some extent this year.

Not that 2019 saw a drastic change but it surely did see a change - a change on the part of producers, a change on the part of writers, a change on the part of directors and above all, a change on the part of the audiences.

2019 will go down as a rare year in the Punjabi film industry when four leading actresses in Sonam Bajwa, Sargun Mehta, Wamiqa Gabbi and Rubina Bajwa featured in as many movies each. If Rubina's special appearance in 'Dil Diyan Gallan' is to be counted, make that five in a calendar year for her.

ALSO READ: Best Punjabi movies of 2019

In a piece talking about actresses, it would be unfair to not mention the names of some of the illustrious veteran actresses who usually play supporting roles. Nirmal Rishi, a tried and tested name in the industry, featured in as many as 11 movies (highest in the Punjabi industry this year).

The likes of Rupinder Rupi (9), Gurpreet Bhangu (9), Anita Devgan (6) and Seema Kaushal (6) were also seen on the silver screens throughout the year.

Rising above from quantity to quality in 2019, a couple of leading names which come to mind are Sonam Bajwa and Sargun Mehta.

"Babbu Bains, Zindabad!"

Sonam, who has seldom been part of a commercially below par movie, was in the best form of her six-year old career this year. If Cash in 'Guddiyan Patole' started the year for her on a high, Babbu Bains in 'Ardab Mutiyaran' completed the year for her on a never-seen-before critical high.

Given the nuances attached to both the aforementioned characters, things could have easily gone wrong. Because they didn’t, it clearly speaks about her work in the affirmative. The fact that Sonam successfully led these movies without a top-notch actor in itself says a lot about the kind of year it has been for her.

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"Sukhi saandi laavein Surkhi Bindi sajjdan di..."

In line for a record-breaking fifth consecutive 'Best Actress' award, Sargun has great chances to bag the award this year. Having said that, the only difference from previous years is that she will face stiff competition from other actresses.

Other than delivering a successful project as Pammi in 'Kala Shah Kala' in February, Sargun also marked her debut as a producer with the movie. Having also produced 'Jhalle' later in the year, Sargun was outstanding as Neena. There were sequences in the movie which made one think about how Sargun Mehta does all of this every passing year?

Since both these movies were co-produced by Sargun herself, it becomes imperative to mention about 'Surkhi Bindi' for it was offered to her and not made by her - something which makes a lot of difference around the whole scenario involving writers and producers. Playing Randeep in an adorable love story, Sargun sure broke a societal barrier or two in the movie.

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A notable mention needs to be made of the Bajwa sisters. While legendary actress Neeru Bajwa was given a full-fledged character in 'Uda Aida', Rubina Bajwa's pick of the movies was 'Munda Hi Chahida'. With Neeru and Rubina at the helm, both the movies rightly asked a lot of logical questions from our society.

Before concluding, here is hoping that various facets of the Punjabi film industry join hands to give more noteworthy roles to the actresses for they are equally important for the development of the Punjabi film industry.

About Dixit Bhargav

<p>Engineer. Sports Management student. Cricket enthusiast. Ardent follower of the Punjabi cinema.</p>