Punjabi cinema, sometimes metonymously referred to as Pollywood or Punjwood is the Punjabi-language film industry centered around the Indian state of Punjab, and based in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha ...

and Mohali. The cinema of Punjab has its beginnings with the 1928 production of '' Daughters of Today'', the earliest feature film produced in the region. The first sound film, '' Heer Ranjha'', using the

sound-on-disc Sound-on-disc is a class of sound film processes using a phonograph or other disc to record or play back sound in sync with a motion picture. Early sound-on-disc systems used a mechanical interlock with the movie projector, while more recent syst ...

technology, was released in 1932. Since then, many films have been produced in Punjabi cinema, a number of which have received international recognition. Many actors and filmmakers started their careers in Punjabi films, a number of whom have acquired international reputations, and a number of whom have found greater financial benefits in careers in larger film producing industries.

History

Film operations started in the 1920s in Lahore, the provincial capital of

British Punjab Punjab was a province of British India. Most of the Punjab region was annexed by the East India Company in 2 April 1849, and declared a province of British Rule, it was one of the last areas of the Indian subcontinent to fall under British co ...

. The first silent film, '' Daughters of Today'', was released in 1924 in Lahore; the city had nine operational cinema houses. Movies shown at these cinemas were mostly produced in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commerc ...

, and seldom from

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

and London. ''Daughters of Today'' was a brainchild of G.K. Mehta, a former officer with the North-Western Railways who, much like

H. S. Bhatavdekar Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatavdekar (15 March 1868 – 20 February 1958), also known as Save dada, was the first Indian to make a film (motion picture) in India. Biography H. S. Bhatavdekar was a resident of Mumbai (Bombay). A Maharashtrian port ...

, had imported a camera into the country. Mehta continued to produce newsreel coverage for companies abroad and delved into further film projects but his dedication gave way when he promptly left the film industry for more profitable ventures. But it was to be later in 1929–1930, when

Abdur Rashid Kardar Abdur Rashid Kardar (1904–1989) was an Indian film actor, director and producer. He is credited with establishing the film industry in the Bhati Gate locality of Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan).Husn Ka Daku'' was released, that the film industry had established in essence in Lahore's

Bhati Gate Bhati Gate ( ur, , ''Bhati Darwaza'') is one of the historic thirteen gates of the Walled City of Lahore in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Bhati Gate also serves as a union council located in the Ravi Zone. The gate is located near Data Darbar a ...

locality. Kardar, a professional

calligraphist Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

, was accompanied by his fellow-artist and friend Muhammad Ismail, who would make the posters for his films.

Sound films (1930s–1946)

Although Kardar had worked with G.K. Mehta on ''The Daughters of Today'', he felt he needed to continue working and stay active in the industry. Alongside Ismail, he sold all his belongings to set up a studio and a production company under the name United Players Corporation, in 1928. Set up at Ravi Road (now Timber Market), the duo hired actors to work with them on their projects. Shooting was mainly done in daylight and limited their productivity, but the area they encompassed was enriched with locations, including important landmarks. The duo modeled their work on American and English films with influences not just prevalent in actors' attires but the movie titles and expressed a desire to seek all means necessary to make a sound film of their own. Actors who worked for the studio included Hiralal,

Gul Hamid Gul Hamid (1905-1936) was an Indian actor. He started his acting career in silent films and later played leading roles in talkies. He had many honors to his credit. He acted in ''Heer Ranjha'', the first film produced in Punjabi and in '' Seet ...

, Nazir, Pran Sikhand, Kaushalya Devi, Gulzaar, Mumtaaz and Ahmed Deen. ''Husn Ka Daku'', also known as ''Mysterious Eagle'', Kardar's directorial début would firmly add him into the directors guild. Produced by Hakim Ram Prasad, the 1932 released '' Heer Ranjha'', originally titled ''Hoor Punjab'', was the first Punjabi sound film ever made. Hakim provided the studio with the equipment necessary to direct the sound film, marked as the last directed by Kardar in Lahore, starring M. Ismail while launching the careers of Rafiq Ghaznavi, Nazeer and Anwari. Bhati Gate (cropped)

Produced by Indira Movie Tone, Krishna Dev Mehra released his directorial début, '' Pind Di Kudi'', in 1935. The sound film, Pind Di Kudi was produced in Calcutta and released in Lahore and introduced young Noor Jahan as an actor and a playback singer. Due to the success of this film, interest in Punjabi films started to escalate; therefore, in 1938, with the assistance of Madan Mohan Mehra, K.D. Mehra released his second Punjabi sound film, '' Heer Sial''. Studios started to open and many actors, filmmakers and technicians shifted from

and Calcutta to Lahore. Prominent names included

Shanta Apte Shanta Apte (1916–1964) was an Indian actress-singer who worked in Marathi and Hindi cinema. Renowned for her roles in films like '' Duniya Na Mane/Kunku'' (1937) and ''Amar Jyoti'' (1936) under the Prabhat Films banner, she was active in Indi ...

, Motilal, Chandra Mohan, Hiralal, Noor Jehan,

Mumtaz Shanti Mumtaz Shanti (28 May 1926 – 19 October 1994) was a popular actress in Indian and Pakistani Cinema during 1940s and 1950s. She was known as ''The Jubilee Girl'' because of her roles in films ''Basant (film), Basant'' and ''Kismet (1943 film), ...

, Wali, Syed Attahullah Shah Hashmi, Krishna Kumar, and Shanker Hussain.

Baldev Raj Chopra Baldev Raj Chopra (22 April 1914 – 5 November 2008) was a famous Indian director and producer of Bollywood industry and television series . Best known for directing Hindi films like '' Naya Daur'' (1957), '' Sadhna'' (1958), '' Kanoon'' (196 ...

, later known as a director, started from the Punjabi film industry in Lahore, where he operated a film magazine called the ''Cine Herald''. Likewise,

Ramanand Sagar Chandramauli Chopra ( ; 29 December 1917 – 12 December 2005) known professionally as Ramanand Sagar, was an Indian filmmaker, editor, playwright, poet and an author. He is best known for making the television show ''Ramayan'' (1987-1988). The ...

, later a director, was associated with the ''Evening News'' and Syed Attahullah Shah Hashmi worked for the film newspaper, ''Adakar''. Bhati Gate is known to have produced some of most notable actors, writers and artists, but with tensions running swift towards the independence of Pakistan and India in 1947, most of the actors traveled into areas that are now a part of modern India. The industry left in Lahore would later be termed as Lollywood, a portmanteau of Lahore and Hollywood.

Post–Punjab partition

In 1947, the British province of Punjab was partitioned between India and Pakistan. West Punjab became part of Pakistan and East Punjab became part of India. This compelled Punjabi film actors, filmmakers and musicians to work in the Bombay industry, including actors such as

K.L. Saigal Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated as K. L. Saigal (11 April 1904 – 18 January 1947), was an Indian singer and actor who is considered the first superstar of the Hindi film industry, which was centred in Kolkata during Saigal's time, but is ...

, Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand and singers such as

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

Noorjahan Noor Jehan ( Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Pres ...

and

Shamshad Begum Shamshad Begum (Hindi: शमशाद बेगम, IAST: ''Śamśād Bēgam''; 14 April 1919 – 23 April 2013) was an Indian singer who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry. Notable for her distinctive voice and ...

. In 1948, Roop K. Shorey directed the first Punjabi film following the partition of Punjab. Other notable films of the late 1940s included Lachhi (1949), Mundri (1949) and

Pheray ''Pheray'' is a 1949 Pakistani Punjabi-language film directed by Nazir Ahmed Khan.Posti Posti can refer to: * ''Posti'' (1950 film), a Punjabi film * Posti Group, the Finnish national post office * Posti, Estonia, a place in south-eastern Estonia *Posti SA Posti is a Poland-based tea company founded in 1953. It is the oldest tea c ...

'', ''

Do Lachhian ''Do Lachhian'' ( pa, ਦੋ ਲੱਛੀਆਂ) is a 1960 (sometimes written 1959) Punjabi film directed by Jugal Kishore, starring Gopal Sehgal, Daljeet, Indira Billi and Krishna Kumari in lead roles. Synopsis ''Do Lachhian'' is a romant ...

'' and '' Bhangra'' with some success but were not able to revive Punjabi cinema. Songs from the films would run for months and years on the radio resulting in a long-term audience for the films. Post-partition, the trend of comedies continued. One of the hit comedies was Mulkh Raj Bhakhri's ''Bhangra'' (1958), starring Sundar and Nishi. It was remade by director Mohan Bhakhri as ''Jatti'' in 1980 with

Mehar Mittal Mehar Mittal (24 October 1934 – 22 October 2016)The ...

and Aparna Chowdhry, and it was again a commercial success. The music from the film was by

Hansraj Behl Hansraj Behl (19 November 1916 – 20 May 1984) was an Indian music composer, who composed music both for Hindi and Punjabi films. Early life and education Born in Ambala, British Punjab, Hansraj received his early education in music from ...

with lyrics by

Verma Malik Verma Malik (13 April 1925 – 15 March 2009) was a Bollywood film songs lyricist. He was an active freedom fighter during the British Raj. He wrote many patriotic songs and bhajans and recited them immediately prior to penning lyrics for fi ...

. Songs sung by Shamshad and Rafi like "Batti balkay banere utte rakhdi han, rah bhul na jave chann mera" and "Chitte dand hasnon nayion rehnde" were widespread hits. ''Johnny Walker'' (1957) was a hit. The big-budget romantic Punjabi film by director Padam Prakash Maheshwary, ''

Satluj De Kande ''Satluj De Kandhe'' ( pa, ਸਤਲੁਜ ਦੇ ਕੰਢੇ), also spelled as ''Satluj De Kande'', is a 1964 National Award winning Punjabi romantic film directed by M. M. Billoo Mehra and produced by Padam Prakash Maheshwary. It stars Balraj ...

'', was released in 1964. This film starred

Balraj Sahni Brigadier Balraj (born Balasegaram Kandiah) was a senior commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Early life Balraj was the fifth and youngest child of Kandiah and Kannagias. He received his primary education in Kokkuthoduwaai ...

, Nishi, Wasti, and Mirza Musharraf, with music by

. This was the only Punjabi film starring Balraj Sahni. It was a major hit and earned a

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

. ''Satluj de Kande'' was telecasted three times on the public TV channel Doordarshan in India. In 1969 the religious film ''

Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai ''Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai'' is a 1969 National Award winning Punjabi film directed by Ram Maheshwary, starring Prithviraj Kapoor, I. S. Johar, Nishi and Vimi. The film is based on a true incident which took place at Golden Temple, Amritsar. Th ...

'' starring Prithviraj Kapoor,

I. S. Johar Inder Sen Johar(16 February 1920 – 10 March 1984), better known as I. S. Johar, was an Indian actor, writer, producer and director, who excelled in comedic roles. Early life Inderjeet Singh Johar was born on 16th February, 1920 in Talagang ...

, Vimmi, Som Dutt, Nishi, Suresh, and David Abraham was released. The film was the first really major successful Punjabi film in post-independent India, with a major cultural impact on

Punjabi Sikhs Punjabi Sikhs are adherents of Sikhism who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis and are native of Undivided Punjab region of Indian Subcontinent. Sikhism is an Indigenous religion born and brought up in Punja ...

at home and abroad, and is credited with the revival of the Punjabi film industry in India. People stood in kilometre-long lines to buy a ticket for the film.

1970s

After the success of ''Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai'', films were released in huge numbers. Hindi actors of Punjabi descent became interested in Punjabi films. ''

Kankan De Ohle ''Kankan De Ohle'' ( pa, ਕਣਕਾਂ ਦੇ ਓਹਲੇ) is a 1971 Punjabi film directed by Omi Bedi, starring Ravinder Kapoor, Indira, Jeevan, Uma Dutt, Mumtaz Begum and others with the guest appearance of Dharmendra and Asha Parekh. Sapan ...

'' (

Dharmendra Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first "He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has worked in over 301 ...

Asha Parekh Asha Parekh (born 2 October 1942) is a retired Indian actress, film director, and producer who appeared in many commercially successful films throughout her career. She was the highest paid actress of her time and was one of the most successful ...

and Ravindra Kapoor) and '' Nanak Dukhiya Sab Sansar'' (

Dara Singh Dara Singh Randhawa (born Deedar Singh Randhawa; 19 November 1928 – 12 July 2012) was an Indian professional wrestler, actor, director and politician. He started acting in 1952 and was the first sportsman to be nominated to the Rajya Sa ...

, Ram Mohan and Asha Sachdev) were released in 1970. 1971 saw no major releases. In 1972,

starred with Prithviraj Kapoor in ''Mele Mitran De''. ''

Man Jeete Jag Jeet ''Man Jeete Jag Jeet'' is a 1973 religious Punjabi film directed by B.S. Thapa, starring Sunil Dutt, Radha Saluja and Ranjeet in lead roles. Music & Gurbani Shabad There are a total of 11 songs in the movie songs were composed by S. Mohinder ...

'', a religious film starring Sunil Dutt,

Radha Saluja Radha Saluja is an Indian actress who has worked mainly in Hindi cinema, Punjabi cinema and Tamil, with a few Bengali, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada movies. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India, she is known for her films ...

and

Ranjeet Ranjeet Bedi (born 13 September 1942 as Gopal Bedi) popularly known as Ranjeet, is an Indian actor and film director born in Jandiala Guru near Amritsar (Punjab), best known for his work in Bollywood.Singh, Nonika (1999)Ranjeet's triple love" ...

, was a major release of 1973. In 1974, ''

Do Sher ''Do Sher '' is a 1974 Bollywood film starring Dharmendra.https://www.thehartwickcollection.com/products/do-sher-1-1974 Cast * Rajendra Kumar * Dharmendra Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known mononymously as Dharmendra, ...

'' (

and

Rajendra Kumar Rajendra Kumar Tuli (20 July 1927 – 12 July 1999) was an Indian actor who starred in Bollywood films. Starting his career in 1949, he appeared in more than 80 films in a career spanning over four decades. He was popularly known as the 'Jubil ...

), ''Bhagat Dhanna Jatt'' (

and Feroz Khan), ''Sacha Mera Roop Hai'' (

Manmohan Krishan Manmohan Krishna (26 February 1922 – 3 November 1990) was a popular Indian film actor and director, who worked in Hindi films for four decades, mostly as a character actor. He started his career as a professor in Physics and held master's de ...

) and ''

Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam ''Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam'' (1974) is a Punjabi movie about Sikhism. Plot In the era of Guru Ram Das, one cannot leave out Rajni, youngest daughter of Rai Duni Chand, revenue collector (kardar) of Patti. Rajni was a Sikh, a disciple of the Guru ...

'' (Shaminder Singh and Radha Saluja) were released. The most successful was ''Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam'', due to the wide appeal of its religious historical setting and appearances by Bollywood actors including Sunil Dutt,

, Johnny Walker,

and

. ''

Teri Meri Ik Jindri ''Teri Meri Ik Jindri '' is a 1975 Punjabi film starring Dharmendra, Veerendra, and Meena Rai movie had very popular song like "Terian Mohabtan Nemaa Sutea'' sang by Narinder Biba, an Sital Singh Sital . Cast * Dharmendra as Superman's D ...

'' (1975) starred

and introduced his cousin

Veerendra Veerendra was an Indian film actor, director, producer and writer who made 25 Punjabi-language films in his 12-year career. He made his debut with the film '' Teri Meri Ek Jindri,'' released in 1975, featuring Dharmendra. He was a regular in Pun ...

. Many films were released in 1976: ''Daaj'', ''Giddha'', ''Main Papi Tum Bakhshanhaar'', ''Papi Tarey Anek'', ''

Santo Banto ''Santo Banto'' ( pa, ਸੰਤੋ ਬੰਤੋ) is a 1976 Punjabi film starring Dharmendra. Cast * Veerendra ... Jeeta * Aruna Irani ... Santo/Banto (dual role) * Shatrughan Sinha ... Karma (special appearance) * Dharmendra ... Cameo appear ...

'', ''Sardar-E-Azam'', ''Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaun'', ''Taakra'', and ''Yamla Jatt''. ''Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaun'' was the biggest hit and starred Dara Singh in the main lead; Rajesh Khanna made a special appearance as the Qawal. The film ran into conflict with the Sikh political parties as the film had

Fauj-i-Khas The ''Fauj-i-Khas'' was a brigade of the Fauj-i-Ain section of the Sikh Khalsa Army of Punjab. It consisted of very experienced elites and had separate flag and emblem. It was strictly disciplined on French pattern. All the equipment and weapons ...

soldiers wearing fake beards. The year 1977 was not a major one for the Punjabi film industry. ''Jai Mata Di'', ''Saal Solvan Chadya'', ''Sat Sri Akal'', and ''Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha'' were released, amongst others. ''Saal Solvan Chadya'' was a highlight because of the cameo appearance by

Rekha Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 fil ...

. ''Sat Sri Akal'' was another hit film. It starred Sunil Dutt, Shatrughan Sinha, and

Premnath Prem Nath Malhotra, better known as Prem Nath, was an Indian actor and director, who was best known for his works in Hindi films. Nath made his debut with the film ''Ajit'' (1948), and went on to appear in over 100 films throughout his career. ...

. In 1978 ''Udeekan'', ''Dhyani Bhagat'', ''Jai Mata Sheranwali'', and ''Jindri Yar Di'' were released. The drama ''Udeekan'' was a hit. ''Walayati Babu'', the first ever remake in Punjabi cinema, was released in 1978. The film was remade from the Punjabi film of the same name by Johnny Walker; it featured a special appearance by Amitabh Bachchan and

Mehar Mittal Mehar Mittal (24 October 1934 – 22 October 2016)The ...

played the main lead. 1979 was a big year: ''Guru Manio Granth'', ''Jatt Punjabi'', ''Kunwara Mama'', ''Sukhi Pariwar'', and ''Til Til Dalekha'' were released. The religious film ''Guru Manio Granth'' was an instant hit. ''Jatt Punjabi'' had a big cast and a special appearance by Manoj Kumar. ''Til Til Da Lekha'' starred Rajesh Khanna as the main lead hero and

Mehar Mittal Mehar Mittal (24 October 1934 – 22 October 2016)The ...

played the comedian's role; the film became a golden jubilee hit at the box office. ''Til Til Dalekha'' was the second Punjabi movie of Rajesh Khanna and his first film as the lead hero in Punjabi films. It won the Punjab State Government award for best story writer and second best feature film of 1979. The first Punjabi mystery film, ''Vangaar (The Challenge)'', was released but it failed to become a hit.

1980s

Chann Pardesi ''Chann Pardesi'' is a Punjabi language film released in 1981. It was directed by Chitrarth Singh and starred Raj Babbar, Rama Vij, Amrish Puri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Om Puri. Chann Pardesi was a seminal film that debuted many future Boll ...

'', the first Punjabi film to win the national award, was released in 1980, and was the biggest hit of that year. It starred

Raj Babbar Raj Babbar (born 23 June 1952) is an Indian Hindi and Punjabi film actor and politician belonging to Indian National Congress. three-time member of the Lok Sabha and a two-time member of the Upper House of the Indian Parliament. He was the Pr ...

, Rama Vij,

Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Indian cinema and Theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himself as one of the most popular actors ...

Om Puri Om Prakash Puri (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Bengali, Kannada,English, Punjabi and one Telugu film, as well as independent and art films and also star ...

, and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. ''Fauji Chacha'' had veteran Bollywood actor Sanjeev Kumar in the lead. A remake of Mulkh Raj Bhakhri's 1958 film ''Bhangra'' came out in 1980 from director Mohan Bhakhri. The film was titled ''Jatti'', and starred Sundar, Nishi, Mehar Mittal, and Aparna Chowdhry. As with the original, the remake was a tremendous success. 1981 had only one hit: ''Balbiro Bhabhi''. This film had

in the lead role. Two major releases of 1982 were and ''Jatt Da Gandasa'' and ''Sarpanch''. ''Sarpanch'' starred Veerendra. In 1983, many movies were released, with '' Putt Jattan De'' being the biggest commercially. Veerendra had another hit in 1984 with the film ''Yaari Jatt Di''. This was the first Punjabi film to have more than half its footage shot in the United Kingdom. ''Mamla Garbar Hai'' was a hit for actor Gurdas Mann. The film's songs were especially loved. Two hit films of 1985 were Mohammad Sadiq's ''Guddo'' and Veerendra's ''Vairi'', ''Ucha Dar Babe Nanak Da'' was also in 1985, it is religious film that established

Gurdas Mann Gurdas Maan is an Indian playback singer, songwriter and actor mainly associated with Punjabi and Hindi language music and films. He gained national attention in 1980 with the song "Dil Da Mamla Hai". Since then, he had gone on to record over ...

as a star.. ''Long Da Lishkara'' was the big hit of 1986, starring

, and Nina Deol. In 1987 Veerendra starred in ''Patola'' and ''Jor Jatt Da''. Punjab was shaken with the assassination of Veerendra by gunshot during the filming of ''Jatt Tey Zameen''. The death opened the door for supporting actors including

Guggu Gill Kulwinder Singh Gill, (Jan 14, 1960) better known as Guggu Gill, is an Indian film actor who mainly works in Punjabi cinema. He was one of the leading actors in Punjabi cinema in the 1990s along with Yograj Singh. He has done 65-70 films so far. ...

and

Yograj Singh Yograj Singh (; born 25 March 1958) is an Indian actor and the former cricketer who played one Test and six One Day Internationals for India as a right-arm fast-medium bowler. His debut Test was at Wellington against New Zealand which India lo ...

to take leading roles. 1988 had '' Patola'' as one of the major release. In 1989 came the critically acclaimed '' Marhi Da Deeva''. The film starred

, Pankaj Kapur, Kanwaljit Singh,

Parikshit Sahni Parikshit Sahni (born 1 January 1944) is an Indian actor who is known for playing the lead in TV series Barrister Vinod, '' Gul Gulshan Gulfaam'' (Doordarshan) and ''Gaatha'' (Star Plus). He has also appeared in three of Rajkumar Hirani's bloc ...

, and

Deepti Naval Deepti Naval (born 3 February 1952) is an Indian-born American actress, director, and writer, predominantly active in Hindi cinema. Her major contribution has been in the area of art cinema, winning critical acclaim for her sensitive and 'clos ...

1990s

In 1990 ''Qurbani Jatt Di'' was released, starring

and

Priti Sapru Priti Sapru (also spelled as Preeti Sapru), is an Indian actress known for her works in Punjabi and Hindi cinema. She featured in a number of films including '' Nimmo'', ''Yaari Jat Di'' and '' Qurbani Jatt Di'' among others, with actors Veer ...

. The film was directed by Preeti Sapru herself, and did well at the box office. A second important release was ''Dushmani Di Agg'', the last film of Veerendra. It also starred Gurdas Mann and Priti Sapru, and was successful at the box office. In 1991 the major film ''Anakh Jattan Di'' starred Daljeet Kaur and

. It was the first movie where the audience really accepted ex-villain Guggu Gill as a hero. The film was followed by films like ''Jor Jatt Da'', which managed to recover its cost. ''

Badla Jatti Da ''Badla Jatti Da'' is a 1991 Punjabi film. This films stars Gugu Gill and Yograj Singh.{{cite news , title=Punjabi cinema's unfair side , url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/chandigarh/punjabi-cinema-s-unfair-side/story-4rJCBURjzVhdMnmXB2WROL. ...

'' was the major success of the year. It starred

, Yograj Singh in a villain role, and Aman Noorie. ''Udeekan Saun Diyan'' garnered critical acclaim, but was not a commercial success. ''Sounh Menoo Punjab Di'', starring Satish Kaul, Rama Vij, Mehar Mittal, and Pal Randhawa was also one of the releases of 1991. The film was directed by Sukhdev Ahluwalia, one of the most successful directors of Punjwood, and had music by Surinder Kohli. ''Vaisakhi'', starring

Deep Dhillon Deep Dhillon is an Indian actor who works in Hindi and Punjabi cinema. He played the role of Jayadratha in the famous Indian TV serial ''Mahabharat'' and appeared as Sahasrarjun in the TV serial ''Vishnu Puran''. He is known for playing Inspe ...

and Sunita Dheer, was released in 1991 to critical acclaim, but did not succeed commercially. ''Jatt Jeona Morh'' was a major hit that year, and made Guggu Gill a superstar. Also released was

's ''Jagga Daku (1991 film)'', which did moderately well. ''Dil Da Mamla'', starring Guggu Gill and Amar Noori, did poorly at the box office. 1993 had films like ''Jatt Sucha Singh Soorma'' (with Yograj Singh and Neena Sidhu), ''Mirza Sahiban'' (starring Guggu Gill), ''Lalkara Jatt Da'', and ''Saali Adhi Gharwali''. These films managed to do adequately at the box office, but were not major successes. Preeti Sapru's ''Mehndi Shagnan Di'', starring Malkit Singh, Hansraj Hans, Preeti Sapru, and Yograj Singh, lost money. ''Kudi Canada Di'' starring Yograj Singh also did poorly. ''Kachehri'' (1994) starred Gurdas Mann, Yograj Singh, and others. The film was praised by critics, was a commercial success, and won a national award. A second release was ''Tabahi'', starring newcomer Vishal Singh; it was the blockbuster hit of the year. Guggu Gill's ''Vairi'' did quite well at the box office, but ''Jigra Jatt Da'', with Yograj Singh as the villain, did poorly at the box office. Kimi Verma starred in ''Naseebo'' and ''Qahar'' in 1995 to critical acclaim, but not commercial success. ''Naseebo'' managed to recover its costs. ''Pratigya'', starring Guggu Gill, Gurdas Maan, Preeti Sapru, and Dara Singh, did well at the box office. ''Zaildaar'' (Yograj Singh), ''Nain Preeto De'' (Yograj Singh), and ''Sir Dhad Di Baazi'' did well. Gurdas Mann's ''Baghawat'' did not. ''Jakhmi Jagirdar'' and ''Mera Punjab'' amongst others also did poorly that year. Punjabi cinema began to decline in 1996. Only the film ''Sukha'' (starring Vishal Singh) did well at the box office. ''Deson Pardeson'', ''Dhee Jatt Di'' (Upasana Singh, Gurkirtan, and Shivinder Mahal), ''Vichoda'' (Yograj Singh), ''Gawahi Jatt Di'', and ''Jorawar'' all did poorly at the box office. Dara Singh's ''Vindoo'' and Farha's ''Rabb Diyan Rakhan'' also fared poorly. Films of 1997 (''Mela'', ''Truck Driver'', ''Sardari'', ''Preetan De Pehredaar'', and ''Pachtaawa'') all failed to make a profit. Even Guggu Gill's films were not successful. ''Train to Pakistan'' was filmed in a mixture of Hindi and Punjabi, and was later dubbed into Punjabi for film festivals. In 1998, ''Purja Purja Kat Mare'' with Guggu Gill, ''Laali'' with Dara Singh, Ravinder Maan, and Vishal, and ''Dildaara'' with Kalbhooshan Kharbanda and

Tanuja Tanuja Samarth, known mononymously as Tanuja, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in the Hindi film industry. Part of the Mukherjee-Samarth family, she is the daughter of actress Shobhna Samarth and producer Kumarsen Samarth, and was ...

did not make money. Even big budget films like ''Guru Gobind Singh'' did poorly. The critically acclaimed film ''Main Maa Punjab Dee'' (directed by Balwant Dullat) won a National Award. The film ''Main Maa Punjab dee'' has been shown repeatedly on national television. The year ended on a positive note as

Jaspal Bhatti Jaspal Singh Bhatti (3 March 1955 – 25 October 2012) was an Indian television personality known for his satirical take on the problems of the common man. He is most well known for his television series '' Flop Show, Full Tension'' and m ...

's ''

Mahaul Theek Hai ''Mahaul Theek Hai'' is a 1999 Indian Punjabi language comedy film directed by filmmaker Jaspal Bhatti. The English subtitled version is called ''The Atmosphere Is Right''. Plot ''Mahaul Theek Hai'' (meaning 'the situation is okay') is a reco ...

'' became an instant hit of Punjabi cinema. It was the first big hit since ''Jatt Jeona Morh'' (1991) and ''Badla Jatti Da'' (1992). Punjabi films were more successful in 1999. ''

'', ''

Shaheed-e-Mohabbat Boota Singh ''Shaheed-e-Mohabbat Boota Singh'' is a 1999 Indian Punjabi-language feature film based on the real-life love story of Boota Singh and Zainab, starring Gurdas Maan and Divya Dutta in the lead roles. The film is directed by Manoj Punj and pro ...

'' with

Gurdas Maan Gurdas Maan is an Indian playback singer, songwriter and actor mainly associated with Punjabi and Hindi language music and films. He gained national attention in 1980 with the song "Dil Da Mamla Hai". Since then, he had gone on to record over ...

and

Divya Dutta Divya Dutta (born 25 September 1977) is an Indian actress and model. She has appeared in Hindi and Punjabi cinema, in addition to Malayalam and English-language films. She has received many awards including a National Film Award, a Filmfare ...

was a critical and commercial success. ''Muqqadar'', ''Tera Mera Pyar'', ''Nadiyon Vichde Neer'', ''Door Nahin Nankana'', and ''Ishq Nachave Gali Gali'' (Randeep Virender, Manjeet Kullar, Deepak Saraf, Neeru Singh, and Surinder Sharma) all did poorly at the box office. ''Rajniti'', which was also made in Hindi, failed to make money.

's ''Shaheed Udham Singh'' did well towards the end of the year. There were only two major hits that year, ''Shaheed e Mohabbat'' and ''Shaheed Udham Singh''.

2000s

In 2000 there was just a single release: ''Dard Pardesan De'', starring

Avinash Wadhawan Avinash Wadhawan is an Indian film and television actor. He has appeared in films like, '' Junoon'', '' Geet'' and '' Balmaa. He played in Colors TV show ''Balika Vadhu ''Balika Vadhu'' (English: The Child Bride) is an Indian soap opera th ...

Upasana Singh Upasana Singh (born 29 June 1975) is an Indian actress and stand-up comedian. Singh is known for her role as a deaf-mute in the 1997 film '' Judaai''. Later on, she got famous for her negative portrayal in '' Son Pari'' as Cruella/Kalipari, a ...

, Paramveer, and Deepshikha, which fared poorly in Punjab, but did very well overseas. ''Sikandra'' and ''Jagira'' were released in 2001. Avinash Wadhawan and

Ayesha Jhulka Ayesha Jhulka (born 28 July 1972) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Hindi films. She has also worked in Odia, Kannada and Telugu languages films. Career She has starred in films including '' Kurbaan'' (1991), ''Jo Jeeta Woh ...

starred in ''Khalsa Mero Roop Hai Khaas'', which was released to the overseas market but not in Punjab. In 2002 '' Jee Ayan Nu'' was released, featuring singer-turned-actor

Harbhajan Mann Harbhajan Singh Mann (born 30 December 1965) is an Indian-Canadian singer, actor and film producer associated with Punjabi music and cinema. His movies include '' Jee Aayan Nu (2002)'', ''Asa Nu Mann Watnan Da (2004)'', ''Heer Ranjha (2009)'' ...

and directed by Manmohan Singh. The movie was made on a big budget for Punjwood – 9 million, as compared to the more typical 20–25 million. It was very successful. This was a turning point in the revival of Punjabi cinema. ''Badla'' came out in 2003. ''Asa Nu Maan Watna Da'' was released in 2004, again with actor Harbhajan Mann and director Manmohan Singh. ''Jija Ji'', ''

Des Hoyaa Pardes ''Des Hoyaa Pardes'' is a 2004 Indian Punjabi-language film, directed by Manoj Punj, starring Gurdas Maan, Juhi Chawla, Divya Dutta and Anup Soni. It won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Punjabi. Plot In 1984, the former Indi ...

'', ''Main Tu Assi Tussi'', ''

Yaaran Naal Baharan ''Yaaran Naal Baharan'' is a Punjabi feature film, released in 2005. It stars Jimmy Sheirgill in the lead role with Juhi Babbar, and was directed by Manmohan Singh. Plot This film tells a story of young hearts seeing each other and falling ...

'', and ''Nalaik'' were released in 2005. ''Dil Apna Punjabi'' (again pairing Harbhajan and director Manmohan), ''Ek Jind Ek Jaan'' (introducing

Prabhleen Sandhu Prabhleen Sandhu (born 5 December 1983) is an Indian Punjabi film actress who rose to fame with the Indian soap on periodic freedom struggle on COLORS' '' Mohe Rang De'' as Kranti, dons a different look and role in Zee's new show, '' Aapki An ...

), ''Mannat'' (directed and written by Gurbir Singh Grewal, having Jimmy Sheirgill and introducing

Kulraj Randhawa Kulraj Kaur Randhawa (born 16 May 1983) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt regi ...

), and '' Waris Shah: Ishq Daa Waaris'' came out in 2006. ''Kambdi Kalai'', a Punjabi diaspora movie based out of the United States, came out in 2006. ''Rustam-e-Hind'' and ''Mitti Wajan Mardi'' (with Harbhajan and Manmohan) were released in 2007. A significant number of movies were produced in 2008: ''Hashar: A Love Story'' (introducing

Gurleen Chopra Gurleen Chopra, also known as Gurlen Kaur Chopraa, is an Indian actress and model. She has appeared in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada and Punjabi films. Early life Gurleen Chopra was selected as "Miss Chandigarh" in her early age. She ...

), ''Yaariyan'', ''Mera Pind'', ''Lakh pardesi hoye'', ''Heaven on earth'', and ''Sat sri akal''. In 2009, ''Jag Jeodeye Deh Mele'' became a hit, and ''

Tera Mera Ki Rishta ''Tera Mera Ki Rishta'' is a 2009 Indian Punjabi language romantic drama film directed by Navaniat Singh and produced by Mukesh Sharma. The film stars Jimmy Sheirgill and Kulraj Randhawa in lead roles along with Anupam Kher, Raj Babbar, Arc ...

'' with

Jimmy Shergill Jimmy Sheirgill (born Jasjit Singh Gill; 3 December 1970), also credited as Jimmy Shergill, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi and Punjabi films. Sheirgill began his film career with the 1996 thriller ''Maachis''. His bre ...

and

was a hit. But the biggest earner of all the Punjabi films was Manmohan Singh's '' Munde U.K. De'' with

and

Gurpreet Ghuggi Gurpreet Singh Waraich (born 19 July 1971), commonly known as Gurpreet Ghuggi, is an Indian actor, comedian and politician. He is known for his works in Punjabi and Hindi films. Ghuggi began his career by acting in theatre in the early 1990s, ...

. '' Munde U.K. De'' broke the record of ''Dil Apna Punjabi'' which was also directed by Manmohan Singh and became the biggest earner of all the Punjabi movies. ''Mehndi Wale Hath'' (2006), written and directed by Harinder Gill and with the new-star cast of Goldie Somal, Gavie Chahal, and Prableen, was a hit film in east Punjab territory.

2010s

In 2010, 16 movies were released. ''

Mel Karade Rabba ''Mel Karade Rabba'' is a 2010 Punjabi film directed by Navaniat Singh and written by Dheeraj Rattan; produced by Rajan Batra and Vivek Ohri; it stars Jimmy Sheirgill and Neeru Bajwa in the lead roles. Pop singer Gippy Grewal made his acti ...

'' starring

Gippy Grewal Rupinder Singh "Gippy" Grewal (born 2 January 1983), is an Indian actor, singer, film director and producer whose works span over Punjabi and Hindi film industry. His single "Phulkari" was very successful in the Punjabi music industry. He mad ...

later broke all records and grossed 110 million net, becoming the highest-grossing Punjabi film ever. ''

Babbu Maan Tejinder Singh "Babbu" Maan (born 29 March 1975) is an Indian singer-songwriter, music director, actor and film producer. Most of his artistic work focuses on Punjabi music and films. He is recognised as being among the biggest artists in Punj ...

s '' Ekam – Son of Soil'' was released in April and was a smash hit. It brought British-punjabi actress

Mandy Takhar Mandy Takhar is a British actress who works in Indian cinema, predominantly in Punjabi with roles in Hindi and Tamil films as well. Early life Mandy Takhar was born and raised in the city of Wolverhampton in the UK. She traces her roots to M ...

to the industry. ''Jawani Zindabad'', written and directed by Harinder Gill and starring the famous Punjabi singer Raj Barar, Pooja Kanwal, Guggu Gill, and Gurkirtan, was released in March 2010. It became a big hit in Canada. ''Channa Sachi Muchi'', written and directed by Harinder Gill and starring Miss Pooja and Goldie Somal, was released in August 2010. Also released in 2010 was ''Sukhmani (Hope for Life)'', starring Gurdas Maan, Juhi Chawla & Divya Dutta. In 2011, the film ''Ek Noor'' starring Harshdeep Kaur and

Yami Gautam Yami Gautam Dhar (born 28 November 1988) is an Indian actress known predominantly for her work in Hindi films. She sprang into prominence after doing some commercials for Glow & Lovely and began her acting career in television shows, followed ...

was released. ''Chhevan Dariya (The Sixth River)'', directed by Ish Amitoj Kaur, was released in September 2011. Kaur was the first Punjabi woman to have directed, produced, and written a Punjabi film. The film starred

Gulshan Grover Gulshan Grover (born 21 September 1955) is an Indian actor and producer who has appeared in over 100 films. He is popularly known as the "Bad Man" of Bollywood because of his ability to create an impact with his negative roles in films. Early ...

Neena Gupta Neena Gupta (born 4 June 1959) is an Indian actress and television director who works in Hindi films and television. Known for her work in both art-house and commercial films, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for p ...

, Manpreet Singh, Lakhwinder Wadali, Christa Cannon and Rana Ranbir. At the end of the year ''Chak Jawana'' was released, directed by Simerjit Singh and starring

, Jonita Doda in the Lead Roles . In February 2011, the PTC Punjabi channel organised the first ever

PTC Punjabi Film Awards PTC Punjabi Film Awards are Indian film awards presented annually by the PTC Punjabi television network to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professional filmmakers and actors with achievements in the field of Punjabi cinema in ...

at Panchkula. It was a tremendous boost to the industry and was attended by the likes of

Prem Chopra Prem Chopra (born 23 September 1935) is an Indian actor in Hindi and Punjabi films. He has acted in 380 films over a span of over 60 years. He has a soft-spoken diction despite being a villain in most films. His 19 films, with him as antagonist ...

, Guddu Dhanoa,

Preeti Sapru Priti Sapru (also spelled as Preeti Sapru), is an Indian actress known for her works in Punjabi and Hindi cinema. She featured in a number of films including '' Nimmo'', ''Yaari Jat Di'' and '' Qurbani Jatt Di'' among others, with actors Vee ...

, Raza Murad,

Satish Kaul Satish Kaul (8 September 1946 – 10 April 2021) was an Indian actor in both Punjabi and Hindi movies. He acted in over 300 Hindi and Punjabi films and worked with Bollywood actors such as Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Shahrukh Khan amongst oth ...

, Manmohan Singh,

Amrinder Gill Amrinder Singh Gill () is an Indian actor, singer, songwriter, and film producer who makes Punjabi-language films and music. He has been nominated for twenty-four PTC Punjabi Film Awards, winning seven including three for Best Actor, and two ...

Jasbir Jassi Jasbir Singh Bains (born 7 February 1970), better known by his stage name Jasbir Jassi, is an Indian singer, lyricist, performer and actor. he has released thirteen albums, his first pop album being ''Dil Le Gayee'', released in 1998 with Tim ...

Puneet Issar Puneet Issar (born 6 November 1959) is an Indian actor, writer, director, producer and dialect coach best known for his works in Hindi films and television shows. Issar started his acting career as a villain in the Manmohan Desai's 1983 film '' ...

Rakesh Bedi Rakesh Bedi is an Indian film, stage and television actor. He is known for his comic roles in films such as ''Mera Damaad'' and '' Chashme Buddoor'' (1981). He has also appeared in television shows like ''Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi'' (1984), '' Shrima ...

Rama Vij Rama Vij ( hi, रमा विज, pa, ਰਮਾ ਵਿਜ) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi and Punjabi movies and TV serials. Career Vij is a well known name in Pollywood (Punjabi Cinema in India) and Bollywood. Her debut movie w ...

, Sudhanshu Pandey, and Akriti Kakkar. 2011 looks to be the year when the industry moves away from the "typical NRI-centered" storylines and towards more meaningful and creative storylines with movies like '' The Lion of Punjab'' starring

Diljit Dosanjh Daljit Singh Dosanjh known professionally as Diljit Dosanjh (born 6 January 1984) is an Indian singer, actor, film producer and television personality. He works in Punjabi Music and subsequently in Punjabi and Hindi cinema. Dosanjh entered ...

and '' Dharti'' starring

Rannvijay Singh Ranvijay Singh Singha is an Indian actor, television personality and VJ. Ranvijay is known for his appearance in MTV Roadies, where he won the show. He was a part of the show from 2004 to 2020, earlier as a gang leader and then as a host. He als ...

. ''

Jihne Mera Dil Luteya ''Jihne Mera Dil Luteya'' () is a 2011 Indian Punjabi language romantic comedy film directed by Mandeep Kumar with story and screenplay by Dheeraj Rattan, produced by Batra Showbiz Pvt. Ltd. and starring Gippy Grewal, Diljit Dosanjh, Neeru Baj ...

'' is a 2011 Punjabi film directed by Mandeep Kumar with story and screenplay by Dheeraj Rattan, produced by Batra Showbiz Pvt. Ltd. and starring

Neeru Bajwa Neeru Bajwa (born 26 August 1975) is a Canadian actress, director and producer who has mainly worked in Punjabi and Hindi films. She started her career in 1998 with Dev Anand's Bollywood film '' Main Solah Baras Ki'' and then moved on to worki ...

, and

Jaswinder Bhalla Jaswinder Bhalla (born 4 May 1960) is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Punjabi cinema. He started his professional career as a comedian in 1988 with Chankata 88 and became actor with film Dulla Bhatti. He is best known for his comedy ...

. It grossed 125 million. These films raise the bar of Punjabi films and take Punjabi cinema to next level. In September 2011, '' Yaara o Dildaara'' was released, directed by Ksshitij Chaudhary and starring

, Jonita Doda,

Tulip Joshi Tulips (''Tulipa'') are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm ...

, Kabir Bedi, and Gurpreet Ghuggi. In October, ''

Yaar Annmulle ''Yaar Annmulle'' is a 2011 Indian Punjabi film directed by Anurag Singh. It stars Arya Babbar, Yuvraj Hans, Harish Verma, Jividha Sharma, Kajal Jain and Jenny Ghottra in lead roles. The film was released on 7 October 2011. Plot On h ...

'' introducing Yuvraj Hans and

Harish Verma Harish Verma is an Indian actor who mostly works in Punjabi-language films. He made his debut in the 2010 film ''Panjaban'', and gained wide attention with ''Yaar Annmulle'' (2011). He made his singing debut with the track ''Ikk Vaari Hor Soch ...

was released. This film was a box office hit. This year was the considered as the golden year of Punjabi cinema and industry reached many milestones in this year by having all India impact. There was the release of

-style film '' Mirza – The Untold Story'' the most costly film () in the history of Punjabi cinema in April starring

and

Yo Yo Honey Singh Hirdesh Singh (born 15 March 1983), known professionally as Yo Yo Honey Singh or simply Honey Singh, is an Indian music producer, rapper, singer, songwriter and an actor. He started out in 2003 as a session and recording artist, and became a b ...

. In June the film '' Jatt & Juliet'' was greatest blockbuster and till now holds the title of best ever film of Punjabi cinema. This film established

and

as superstars of Punjabi film industry. Himesh Reshammiya has purchased the remake rights of the movie for . In July 2012 out and out comedy film ''

Carry On Jatta ''Carry On Jatta'' is a 2012 Indian Punjabi comedy film directed by Smeep Kang and starring Gippy Grewal, and Mahie Gill. The film released on 27 July 2012. This movie was remade in Odia in 2015 as '' Pilata Bigidigala'', in Telugu in 2016 as ' ...

'' starring

was also blockbuster only after ''Jatt & Juliet'' commercially. First time in punjabi cinema sequel of sperhit film ''

'', film ''Yaraan Naal Baharaan 2'' was released. In September, ''

Ajj De Ranjhe ''Ajj De Ranjhe'' is a 2012 Punjabi film starring Aman Dhaliwal, Gurleen Chopra, Gurpreet Ghuggi, Kimi Verma, Kul Sidhu, Rana Ranbir. The movie is directed by Manmohan Singh. The movie was released on 7 September 2012. Plot ''Ajj De Ranjhe'' ...

'' starring

and

Kul Sidhu Kul Sidhu (Kulvinder Kaur) is an Indian theatre, television and movie artist, who works in Punjabi cinema. She acted in the National Film Award-winning movie '' Anhe Ghore Da Daan'' (2011) playing the role of the wife of a rickshaw-puller, the pr ...

was released. It was directed by Man ji. In October 2012, '' Saadi Wakhri Hai Shaan'', directed by Gurbir Grewal, was released. The film featured eight songs, which were composed by debut music director Dilpreet Bhatia. The film's music was a contemporary

fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

of western classical and Punjabi folk music. This year many new Production houses started the production of too many comedy movies.

Binnu Dhillon Binnu Dhillon (born 29 August 1975) is an Indian actor who is known for his roles in Punjabi cinema and Hindi films . Early life and education Dhillon was born on 29 August 1975 in Dhuri, Sangrur, Punjab, where he did his schooling from Gur ...

Rana Ranbir Rana Ranbir Singh is an Indian Punjabi actor working in Punjabi cinema and Hindi cinema. Early life and education After completing a bachelor's degree from Desh Bhagat College Dhuri, he received a postgraduate degree in theater and television fr ...

Karamjit Anmol Karamjit Anmol is an Indian actor, comedian, singer and film producer active in the Punjabi entertainment industry. He has worked in Punjabi movies including ''Laavaan Phere'' and '' Carry on Jatta 2''. He has also acted in the comedy plays "OMG ...

and B.N. Sharma established themselves as greatest comedians of Punjabi industry. In August 2012, the first ever Punjabi International Film Academy Awards were organised in Toronto, Canada. This was a tremendous success, attended by a host of Punjabi stars. With renewed interest from the public, Punjabi cinema has seen a revival with more releases every year featuring bigger budgets, homegrown stars, and Bollywood actors of Punjabi descent taking part. Also there are film festivals like ''Punjabi Film Festival'',

, Ma Boli International Punjabi Film Festival, Vancouver and Punjabi International Film Festival, Toronto held annually. 2013 carried the Golden phase of Punjabi movies to the next level. Superstars

and

Surveen Chawla Surveen Chawla (born 1 August 1984) is an Indian actress and dancer who appears in Hindi films and television. She started her career with television shows like Kahin to Hoga and Kajjal. She is known for her roles in movies and shows like '' Ha ...

stole the hearts of audiences by their successful films this year. ''

Jatt & Juliet 2 ''Jatt & Juliet 2'' ( pa, ਜੱਟ ਐਂਡ ਜੂਲੀਅਟ 2) is a 2013 Indian Punjabi romance comedy film directed by Anurag Singh. The film is a sequel to the 2012 blockbuster '' Jatt & Juliet'', however not directly or story-wise. Acto ...

'' broke the records of its prequel '' Jatt & Juliet''. ''Jatt & Juliet 2'' was also released in Pakistani Punjab in over 15 screens and was greatly liked by Pakistani audiences. ''

Sadda Haq "Sadda Haq" is a song composed by A. R. Rahman for the 2011 Indian musical film '' Rockstar''. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor and Nargis Fakhri in leading roles and is directed by Imtiaz Ali. The song features vocals by Mohit Chauhan and addition ...

'', a true story based in the late 1980s and early 1990s during a period of extreme turmoil in Punjab was the second blockbuster of the year 2013 only after ''Jatt & Juliet 2''. ''

Bhaji in Problem ''Bhaji in Problem'' is a 2013 Indian Punjabi-language comedy film directed by Smeep Kang, who had earlier directed films like '' Carry on Jatta'' and ''Lucky Di Unlucky Story'', both of which featured Gippy Grewal in the lead role. Grewal ...

'' starring

was another blockbuster of the year produced by

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

and also having his extended appearance along with cricketer

Harbhajan Singh Harbhajan Singh (born 3 July 1980) is a member of parliament in Rajya Sabha and an Indian retired cricketer and cricket commentator, who played for the Indian national cricket team from 1998 - 2016. Singh was a right-arm spin bowler. In India ...

. Other hit films were

's ''Saadi Love Story'' starring

, ''

Fer Mamla Gadbad Gadbad ''Fer Mamla Gadbad Gadbad'' (Punjabi: ਫੇਰ ਮਾਮਲਾ ਗੜਬੜ ਗੜਬੜ) is a Punjabi film scheduled for release. The film is to be released on 12 July 2013, starring Roshan Prince, Japji Khera and Bhanu Sri Mehra.‘FMGG’ ...

'' starring

Roshan Prince Roshan Prince is an Indian singer, producer, musician, songwriter and actor known for his Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punja ...

and Japji Khaira, '' Jatts in Golmaal'' starring

Arya Babbar Aarya Babbar is an Indian actor who appears in Bollywood and Punjabi films. In 2014, Aarya participated in the eighth season of ''Bigg Boss''. Career Aarya Babbar started his film career with Raj Kanwar's '' Ab Ke Baras'' alongside Amrita ...

and Samiksha, ''

Tu Mera 22 Main Tera 22 ''Tu Mera 22 Main Tera 22'' (English translation: You're my brother & I'm your brother) is a Punjabi comedy film directed by Amit Prasher. The film features Amrinder Gill and Yo Yo Honey Singh in the lead roles as two spoiled rich brothers, alo ...

'' starring

and superstar

's '' Lucky Di Unlucky Story'' and action flick '' Singh vs Kaur''. A religious film, ''Pagri Singh Da Taaj'', was also released. The Hollywood blockbuster ''

A Good Day to Die Hard ''A Good Day to Die Hard'' is a 2013 American action thriller film and the fifth and final installment in the ''Die Hard'' film series. The film was directed by John Moore and written by Skip Woods, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane in h ...

'' dubbed in

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

with superstar

's voice was released in Punjab. Many meaningful films based on social issues and the reality of Punjab were also successful like National Award winner ''Nabar'', ''Stupid 7'' based on student life in Punjab, Chandigarh student politics based ''Sikander'', ''

'', corruption and social issues based ''

Bikkar Bai Sentimental ''Bikkar Bai Sentimental'' is a 2013 Indian Punjabi-language action film directed by Gautam Anil Nagrath. It centers on the character of Jassi Jasraj (Karan Jasbir), a singer and music composer, who is better known for his rebellious attitude. ...

'', religious film ''

Dastaar A dastār ( pa, ਦਸਤਾਰ/دستار, from fa, دستار; ''dast'' or "hand" with the agentive suffix -ār; also known as a ਪੱਗ ''paga'' or ਪੱਗੜੀ ''pagaṛī'' in Punjabi) is an item of headwear associated with Sikhism, ...

'', ''Punjab Bolda'', ''

Haani ''Haani'' is a 2013 Indian Punjabi-language romantic drama film directed by Amitoje Mann and stars Harbhajan Mann, Mehreen Kaleka, Sarbjit Cheema, Anuj Sachdeva, Sonia Mann and Rupan Bal. The film consists of two story lines set in the years ...

'', and ''

Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya ''Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya'' is a 2013 Indian Punjabi language film, directed by Thakur Tapasvi, starring Inderjit Nikku and Sana Nawaz Khan in lead roles with Shakti Kapoor, Daljit Kaur, Jaspal Bhatti, Raza Murad, Muhammad Sadiq, Sardar Sohi and ot ...

''. This year also saw the production of the first Punjabi 3D feature film, ''

Pehchaan 3D Pehchaan 3D is the first Punjabi 3D movie based on a true story. Synopsis "Jagjot Sidhu, a young medicine graduate, has aspirations to soon become a doctor and make his family proud. After witnessing a murder, he comes forward to testify agains ...

'', produced and directed by Manny Parmar.

Irrfan Khan Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020), also known simply as Irrfan, was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in In ...

starrer '' Qissa'' won four awards in ''Indian International Film Festival of Queensland'' of best actor award for

Irrfan Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020), also known simply as Irrfan, was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in Ind ...

, best actress award for

Tillotama Shome Tillotama Shome is an Indian actress. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 63rd Filmfare Awards for her role in ''A Death in the Gunj''. In 2021, she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics) for portraying a praisewo ...

, best director award for Anup Singh and best cinematography for Sebastian Edschmid. In year 2014, around 42 films were released and nearly 80 percent of those films were all

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such ...

comedies. Most successful films of the year were blockbusters like ''

Chaar Sahibzaade ''Chaar Sahibzaade'' () is a 2014 Indian Punjabi - Hindi 3D computer-animated historical drama film written and directed by Harry Baweja. It is based on the sacrifices of the sons of the 10th Sikh guru Guru Gobind Singh— Sahibzada Ajit Singh, ...

(3D)'',

's ''

Jatt James Bond ''Jatt James Bond'' or ''JJB'' is a 2014 Indian Punjabi film directed by Rohit Jugraj, and starring Gippy Grewal and Zareen Khan as leads, along with Gurpreet Ghuggi, Yashpal Sharma. The music of the film is given by Jatinder Shah and Mukh ...

'', ''

Disco Singh ''Disco Singh'' is a 2014 Punjabi comedy film directed by Anurag Singh and starring Diljit Dosanjh and Surveen Chawla. This is the third collaboration between Singh and Dosanjh after the 2012 blockbuster '' Jatt and Juliet'' and the 2013 sequel ...

'', '' Double Di Trouble'',

's ''

Punjab 1984 ''Punjab 1984'' is a 2014 Indian Punjabi language period drama film directed by Anurag Singh. It is based on the 1984–86 Punjab insurgency's impact on social life, notably it is a story of a mother and her missing son. Starring Diljit Dosa ...

'', '' Mr & Mrs 420'', '' Goreya Nu Daffa Karo''. In This year many Action Films were released like '' Kirpaan: The Sword of Honour'', '' Fateh'', ''

Romeo Ranjha Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Lord Montague and his wife, Lady Montague, he secretly loves and marries Juliet, a member of the rival House of Capulet, through a priest ...

'', ''Yoddha The Warrior (2014 film)'' and ''Baaz''. Released in January, ''

Patiala Dreamz ''Patiala Dreamz'' is a Punjabi-language film starring Sarwar Ahuja and Madalasa Sharma. Cast * Sarwar Ahuja as Garry * Madalasa Sharma as Reet * Sardar Sohi as Teja Singh * Usha Bachani as Jageer kaur * Amita Nangia as Reets Mother * Amri ...

'' was a romantic thriller, with right doses of action, suspense, romance and comedy. There were many movies touching 1984 subject such as ''

'', '' Kaum De Heere'', '' 47 to 84 Hun Main Kisnu Watan Kahunga''. Other films released in this year were '' Aa Gaye Munde U.K. De'' starring

and

, '' Mundeyan Ton Bachke Rahin'' starring

Jassi Gill Jasdeep Singh Gill (born 26 November 1988) is an Indian singer, live perfomer and actor associated with Punjabi and Hindi language music and films. He debuted in Punjabi cinema with the 2014 film '' Mr & Mrs 420'' and in Hindi cinema with the ...

and

Simran Kaur Mundi Simran Kaur Mundi is an Indian actress who made her acting debut in the Hindi film '' Jo Hum Chahein'' in 2011. Prior to that she was a model who was crowned Miss India Universe 2008 in Mumbai on 5 April 2008. Biography Born in Mumbai, she be ...

, ''Dil Vil Pyaar Vyaar'' starring

and

, "Cross Connection" Released on 26 December, Produced by jasbir Dhillon (Dhillon Creations) Starring: B.N. Sharma, Upasna singh, Garry warraich, Nancy johal, Gurchet chitarkar, Parkash gadhu, Dilawar sidhu, Malkeet raouny, Anita shabdeesh, Sahib singh, Raman Dhillon, Rozy, Tarsem paul with renowned singers Rahat fateh ali khan, Arif Lohar, Kamal khan, Navraj hans, Mank-e, Tochi raina. Also this year many notable actors and singers debuted in Punjabi cinema, this year notably veteran actors

and Poonam Dhillon in '' Double Di Trouble'', famous Bollywood comedian

Razak Khan Abdur Razzak Khan (28 March 1951 – 1 June 2016) was an Indian actor who has worked in Bollywood films. Khan was noted for supporting and comic roles. He was known for his comic role of Manikchand in the 1999 Abbas–Mustan directed film '' B ...

in '' Marriage da garriage'', Bollywood actress

Zarine Khan Zareen Khan (born 14 May 1987), also known as Zarine Khan, is an Indian actress and model. Mainly working in the Hindi film industry, she has also appeared in Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil films. Khan made her Bollywood debut in 2010 playing a ...

in ''

'', singer

Garry Sandhu Gurmukh Singh "Garry" Sandhu, is an Indian singer, songwriter, rapper and actor known for his work in Punjabi music Music of Punjab ( Punjabi: پنجاب دی موسیقی ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦਾ ਸੰਗੀਤ ) reflects the traditions o ...

in ''

''. ''

'' was the first

3D animated historical drama. It was a blockbuster, grossing over globally and was made tax free by governments of states like Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh. The Canadian-Punjabi feature film '' Work Weather Wife'' represented Canada at the 87th Oscar Awards (87th Academy Awards) and it was the only Canadian film that made the final shortlist of 79 Best Original Songs with its songs Moon and Long Braid. At 72nd Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language Feature Film and made the top 53 films in the long list. It stars Harpreet Sandhu and Reema Nagra in the lead role with Dilbag Brar and Kirat Bhattal. It is directed by Harpreet Sandhu. The year 2015 was attributed to a few directors who took the risk of taking up different subjects with some fresh stories and some fresh actors and villains.

and

-starrer ''

Sardaar Ji ''Sardaarji'' is a 2015 Indian Punjabi fantasy comedy film directed by Rohit Jugraj, and starring Diljit Dosanjh, Mandy Takhar and Neeru Bajwa in lead roles. The trailer of the film was released on 18 May 2015. ''Sardaar Ji'' is one of the ...

'' was blockbuster film and even achieved milestone gross earning record, according to the film pandits. Second Blockbuster film was

Sargun Mehta Sargun Mehta Dubey (; born 6 September 1988) is an Indian actress, model and television host. She has received three PTC Punjabi Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards Punjabi for her work in Punjabi Cinema. Mehta began acting in theatre product ...

, Aditi Sharma and

starrer, 1945 based rural Punjabi love story ''

Angrej ''Angrej'' () is a 2015 Indian Punjabi-language historical romance film directed by Simerjit Singh. Set against the backdrop of the waning British Raj, the film chronicles the love story of a young man and a woman, played by Amrinder Gill an ...

'' which did very well both in Punjab as well as abroad. Punjabi films with a strong storyline and an equally strong direction were ''

Shareek ''Shareek'' ( pa, ਸ਼ਰੀਕ) is a 2015 Punjabi musical drama film directed by Navaniat Singh, starring Jimmy Sheirgill, Mahie Gill, Guggu Gill, Simar Gill, Oshin Sai, Mukul Dev, Kuljinder Sidhu, Prince KJ, Hobby Dhaliwal, Gulchoo Jolly. It ...

'' (directed by Navaniat Singh, starring Jimmy Shergill and Mahie Gill), '' Qissa Panjab'' (directed by Jatinder Mauhar that weaved in seven different stories into one), ''

Judge Singh LLB ''Judge Singh LLB'' is a Punjabi courtroom drama film starring Ravinder Grewal, Chandan Prabhakar, Surbhi Mahendru and Sardar Sohi. The poster of Judge Singh LLB was released on 13 July 2015. The trailer was released in November 2015 and the fi ...

'' (directed by Atharv Baluja as the first Punjabi courtroom drama),

's '' Faraar'' (directed by Baljit Singh Deo brought in double role with suspense) was the highest budget film with in the history of Punjabi cinema. Other flop films were '' Dildariyaan'', ''

Mitti Na Pharol Jogiya ''Mitti Na Pharol Jogiya'' (2015) is a Punjabi film based on a true story of 1947 Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolut ...

'', ''

Oh Yaara Ainvayi Ainvayi Lut Gaya ''Oh Yaara Ainvayi Ainvayi Lut Gaya'' is a 2015 Punjabi romantic comedy film written and directed by Raj Sinha. It stars Jassi Gill and Gauahar Khan. The film was released on 22 May 2015. Cast * Jassi Gill as Ranveer Singh * Gauahar Khan as ...

'', ''

Munde Kamaal De ''Munde Kamaal De'' is a 2015 Indian Punjabi-language comedy film directed by Amit Prasher and written by Naresh Kathooria The film is produced by Prem Parkash Gupta with Starring Amrinder Gill, Yuvraj Hans, Binnu Dhillon and Mandy Takhar in ...

''. While films raking up controversy or inviting a ban were ''

The Mastermind Jinda Sukha ''The Mastermind Jinda Sukha'' is 2015 Indian Punjabi-language film initially released 11 September 2015. Film is based on facts and letters exchanged by Harjinder Singh Jinda and Sukhdev Singh Sukha (the assassins of Indian Army chief Arun Shr ...

'' and ''Pata Pata Singhan Da Vairi'' and '' Nanak Shah Fakir'' (Temporarily that faced a ban in some parts of the country). In 2016, As many as 41 movies were released.

Ambarsariya ''Ambarsariya'' is an Indian Punjabi comedy thriller film directed by Mandeep Kumar, written by Dheeraj Rattan and starring Diljit Dosanjh, Monica Gill, Navneet Kaur Dhillon, Lauren Gottlieb as the main cast of the film and was released worldw ...

Sardaar Ji 2 ''Sardaar Ji 2'' (previously ''The Return of Sardaarji'') is a 2016 Punjabi comedy film starring Diljit Dosanjh, Monica Gill, and Sonam Bajwa in lead roles and directed by Rohit Jugraj Chauhan The film was released on 24 June 2016. It is a stand ...

Love Punjab ''Love Punjab'' is a 2016 Punjabi film directed by Rajiv Dhingra, written by Amberdeep Singh and starring Amrinder Gill, Sargun Mehta and Manvir Johal as the main protagonists of the film. This film is about a journey of a family to find love ...

Vaisakhi List ''Vaisakhi List'' is a 2016 Punjabi film directed by Smeep Kang and starring Jimmy Sheirgill, Shruti Sodhi and Sunil Grover as the main cast and the film was released on 22 April 2016. The movie is loosely based on the 2002 Korean movie '' J ...

Channo Kamli Yaar Di ''Channo Kamli Yaar Di'' (2016) is a Punjabi film directed by Pankaj Batra and starring Neeru Bajwa and Binnu Dhillon with a released date of February 19, 2016. Channo ( Neeru Bajwa) is an emotional journey of a pregnant Punjabi girl who goes to ...

, Kaptaan, Saadey CM Saab,

Bambukat ''Bambukat'' is a 2016 Indian Punjabi-language period drama film written by Jass Grewal and directed by Pankaj Batra. Co-produced by Nadar Films and Rhythm Boyz Entertainment; it stars Ammy Virk, Binnu Dhillon, Simi Chahal and Sheetal Thakur in ...

Chauthi Koot ''The Fourth Direction'' is a 2015 Punjabi-language Indian drama film directed by Gurvinder Singh. It is based on the short stories ''The Fourth Direction'' and ''I Am Feeling Fine Now'' from Indian author Waryam Singh Sandhu's 2005 collection ...

Nikka Zaildar ''Nikka Zaildar'' is a 2016 Punjabi romantic comedy film directed by Simerjit Singh, written by Jagdeep Sidhu, and starring Ammy Virk and Sonam Bajwa as the main lead roles and was released worldwide on 30 September 2016. It follows college st ...

were some of the big commercial/critical winners. In the first half of 2017, New concepts and excellent content paid dividends. Super Singh,

Manje Bistre ''Manje Bistre'' () is a 2017 Indian Punjabi-language family drama romantic comedy film featuring Gippy Grewal and Sonam Bajwa in lead roles while Karamjit Anmol, Jaggi Singh, Sardar Sohi and Hobby Dhaliwal in supporting roles. The film is se ...

, Jindua,

Lahoriye ''Lahoriye'' is a 2017 Indian-Punjabi drama film written and directed by Amberdeep Singh. It stars Amrinder Gill, Sargun Mehta, Yuvraj Hans, Nimrat Khaira, Sardar Sohi and Guggu Gill. ''Lahoriye'' is about the effects of the partition of In ...

, Sargi, Saab Bahadar, Sarvann,

Rabb Da Radio ''Rabb Da Radio'' () is a 2017 Indian Punjabi-language film directed by Tarnvir Singh Jagpal and Harry Bhatti, and written by Jass Grewal. It stars Tarsem Jassar, Mandy Takhar and Simi Chahal. The film was produced by Manpreet Johal and Vehl ...

and The Great Sardaar were some of the big commercial/critical winners. In the second half of the year,

Channa Mereya Channa Mereya () is an Indian Urdu song from the Bollywood film ''Ae Dil Hai Mushkil''. The song is penned by Amitabh Bhattacharya, composed by Pritam and sung by Arijit Singh. It was released on 29 September 2016 by Sony Music India. The ly ...

, Sardar Mohammad,

Nikka Zaildar 2 ''Nikka Zaildar 2'' is a 2017 Punjabi romantic comedy film directed by Simerjit Singh, written by Jagdeep Sidhu and starring Ammy Virk, Sonam Bajwa, and Wamiqa Gabbi as the main lead roles and the film was released worldwide on 22 September 201 ...

and

Vekh Baraatan Challiyan ''Vekh Baraatan Challiyan'' is a 2017 Indian romantic comedy film directed by Ksshitij Chaudhary and written by Naresh Kathooria. Its principal cast includes Binnu Dhillon, Ranjit Bawa, Kavita Kaushik, Jaswinder Bhalla, Karamjit Anmol. The fi ...

were some of the commercial hits. In the year 2018, the first ever war-based Punjabi movie

Sajjan Singh Rangroot ''Sajjan Singh Rangroot'' is a 2018 Indian Punjabi-language war drama film directed by Pankaj Batra. It stars Diljit Dosanjh, Yograj Singh and Sunanda Sharma. The movie is based on a true story about the experiences of Sikh soldiers of the Br ...

, set during World War I and starring

, was released. Carry On Jatta 2 was another blockbuster and one of the highest grossing Punjabi movies of all time. Other commercially successful movies include

Golak Bugni Bank Te Batua ''Golak Bugni Bank Te Batua'' is a 2018 comedy Indian-Punjabi film directed by Ksshitij Chaudhary. It stars Amrinder Gill, Aditi Sharma, Simi Chahal, Harish Verma, Jaswinder Bhalla, B.N. Sharma in lead roles. Golak Bugni Bank Te Batua was r ...

Ashke ''Ashke'' is a 2018 Indian-Punjabi film based on popular folk dance Bhangra and is written by Dheeraj Rattan and directed by Amberdeep Singh. It stars Amrinder Gill, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Roopi Gill in lead roles and Sarbjit Cheema, Hobby Dhaliwal, ...

, Laung Laachi and Laavan Phere. In year 2019, total 61 Punjabi films were released worldwide with superhits like ''

Shadaa ''Shadaa'' () is a 2019 Indian Punjabi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Jagdeep Sidhu, and co-produced by A & A Advisors and Brat Films. The film starring Diljit Dosanjh and Neeru Bajwa, follows the story of an average man ...

'', '' Ardaas Karaan'', ''

Chal Mera Putt ''Chal Mera Putt'' is a 2019 Indian Punjabi-language comedy-drama Film directed by Janjot Singh and co-produced by Rhythm Boyz Entertainment, Gillz Network and Omjee Star Studios. It stars Amrinder Gill, Simi Chahal, Iftikhar Thakur, Nasir Chin ...

'', ''

Muklawa ''Muklawa'' is a 2019 Indian Punjabi-language, comedy-drama filmdirected by Simerjit Singh under the banner of Ammy Virk Productions. The film is produced by Gunbir Singh Sidhu and Manmord Sidhu. The film stars Ammy Virk, Sonam Bajwa, Gurpre ...

'', '' Manje Bistre 2'', ''

Nikka Zaildar 3 ''Nikka Zaildar 3'' is a 2019 Indian Punjabi-language romantic-comedy film directed by Simerjit Singh from a screenplay co-written by Jagdeep Sidhu and Gurpreet Singh Palheri. The film is third instalment of Nikka Zaildar film series. Co-produ ...

'', ''

Singham ''Singham'' is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Reliance Entertainment, based on a script by writers Yunus Sajawal and Farhad-Sajid. It serves as first installment of Shetty's Cop Universe. ...

'', ''

Rabb Da Radio 2 ''Rabb Da Radio 2'' () is a 2019 Indian-Punjabi Family-Drama film directed by Sharan Art, produced by Manpreet Johal & Ashu Munish Sahni and distributed by Omjee Star . It is direct sequel to ''Rabb Da Radio'' (2017). The film stars Tarsem Jassa ...

'', ''Dil Diyaan Gallan'', ''Blackia'', ''

Laiye Je Yaarian ''Laiye Je Yaarian'' is a 2019 Indian Punjabi-language romantic drama film written by Dheeraj Rattan and directed by Sukh Sanghera. Co-produced by Rhythm Boyz Entertainment and Papilio Media; it stars Harish Verma, Roopi Gill, Rubina Bajwa, a ...

'', '' Chandigarh Amritsar Chandigarh'', ''

Kaka Ji Kaka Ji: Son of Royal Sardar is a 2019 Indian-Punjabi drama film written by Gill Raunta and directed by Mandeep Benipal. Associate directorVinod Kumar Produced by Dreamreality Movies and Ravneet Chahal; it stars Dev Kharoud, Aarushi Sharma, and ...

'' and ''Band Vajje''. '' Harjeeta'' won two awards for Best Punjabi Film and Best Child Actor at

66th National Film Awards The 66th National Film Awards ceremony was the award ceremony which took place in 2019 to honour the best films of 2018, in the Indian cinema. The declaration of awards was delayed due to 2019 Indian general election. Selection process The Direc ...

. Song '' Laung Laachi'' from '' Laung Laachi'' film became the first Indian song to reach one billion views on YouTube.

Festivals

Film distribution and production companies

Notable Punjabi film distribution and/or production companies include:
Inside Motion Pictures
* Cine Heights * Geet Mp3 * White Hill Studio * Humble Motion Pictures * Studio 7 Production Canada & USA * Shri Narotam Ji Productions * Vehli Janta Films *

Villagers Film Studio Villagers Film Studio Private Limited is an Indian film production company founded by Ammy Virk and his brother Bhagwant Virk in 2017. Villagers Film Studio began to produce films in 2018 with Laung Laachi followed by Harjeeta and Guddiyan Pat ...

* Naughty Men Productions * Dream Reality Films * Unisys Infosolutions Pvt Ltd/Saga Music Pvt Ltd

Distribution

Punjabi cinema punjabi film at hari theatre jammu india

Prior to the late-1900s, Punjabi film companies were largely immersed in the competition for the domestic market. Limited to East Punjab and West Punjab and low number of screens in Punjabi-speaking areas of Delhi and Rajasthan (

Sri Ganganagar Sri Ganganagar is a planned city and the northernmost city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, near the international border of India and Pakistan. It is the administrative headquarters of Sri Ganganagar district. It is named after Maharaja Shri ...

Hanumangarh Hanumangarh is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, situated on the banks of the river Ghaggar also identified as Ancient Sarasvati river, located about 400 km from Delhi. It is the administrative seat of Hanumangarh District. The ci ...

) and no prospect in metro cities, distribution was a problem for Punjabi filmmakers. It was difficult to compete with the huge demand for films created by

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. Gradually, Punjabi companies moved to the

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologi ...

n, European and North American markets. In recent years, Canada has become a popular destination for shooting Punjabi films and is the second largest market of Punjabi cinema. About 50 percent of the revenue for all successful Punjabi films are generated from the overseas markets, including Australia, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States. A number of Punjabi films have also surpassed the gross collections of Bollywood films in the overseas markets. Punjabi films are finding more releases in Punjabi-dominated areas of South Asia, including East Punjab, West Punjab, Delhi,

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand ( Rudrapur,

Bajpur Bazpur, or Bajpur, is a city and a municipality in Udham Singh Nagar district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Bazpur is well connected with the industrial city of Rudrapur and the historical city of Kashipur. Bazpur is nearest city to Nai ...

, Kashipur) and

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

. Punjabi films are also distributed to less-Punjabi populated regions, including states of India:

Bengaluru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

, Gujarat,

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. ...

, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, Nanded,

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sc ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Ben ...

and countries:

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous c ...

, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Malaysia, Netherlands, Pakistan (other than West Punjab) and Singapore. Punjabi cinema makes zero money from satellite or music due to absence of a sustainable satellite mechanism. At the home territory, Punjab, against only 4 multiplexes in all of East Punjab in 2007, as of 2014 the numbers have increased to 36 with 99 more approved by the

Government of Punjab, India The Government of Punjab, also known as the State Government of Punjab or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Punjab and its 23 districts. It consists of an executive, led by the Governor ...

for construction. These in turn have attracted a large middle class audience for Punjabi films which did not exist before.

Parallel cinema

In Punjabi cinema only a few movies are considered meaningful. Punjabi film industry has established Parallel Cinema in these years also. The National Award-winning '' Marhi Da Deeva'' (1989) mercilessly explores the issues of economic inequality, social segregation in life of

dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

farm labourers and other landless communities in Punjab. Another National Award winner, '' Anhe Ghore Da Daan'' (2011) diligently puts across the distressed and frustrated life-cycle of marginalised

Dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold varna system of Hinduism and were seen as forming ...

s in Punjab. It is the first Punjabi-language film to have travelled to so many international film festivals. The film premiered in the Orizzonti section (Horizons) at the

68th Venice International Film Festival The 68th annual Venice International Film Festival was held in Venice, Italy between 31 August and 10 September 2011. American film director Darren Aronofsky was announced as the Head of the Jury. American actor and film director Al Pacino was ...

. It won the Special Jury Award and the $50,000 Black Pearl trophy at the

Abu Dhabi Film Festival The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (ADFF; ar, مهرجان أبو ظبي السينمائي), formerly the Middle East International Film Festival, was an international film festival held in the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 2007 to 2 ...

. It was also shown at the 55th

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

, 49th New York Film Festival and the

16th Busan International Film Festival The 16th Busan International Film Festival was held from October 6 to October 14, 2011 at the Busan Cinema Center and was hosted by actresses Uhm Ji-won and Ye Ji-won, making it the first year to be hosted by two women. The 16th BIFF also marks th ...

. The film also won the Golden Peacock award for best film at the 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2012 held in Panaji, Goa. ''

Khamosh Pani ''Khamosh Pani'' ( Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), ਖ਼ਾਮੋਸ਼ ਪਾਨੀ (Gurmukhi); ''Silent Waters'') is a 2003 Indo-Pakistani film about a widowed mother and her young son living in a Punjabi village as it undergoes radical changes duri ...

'' (2003) is a tragic story of widowed mother and her young son set in a late 1970s village in West Punjab and relations of communities after 1947 Partition of Punjab starring Kiron Kher and

Shilpa Shukla Shilpa Shukla (born 22 February 1982) is an Indian film and theatre actress. She is known for her roles in the 2007 sports drama '' Chak De! India'' and the 2013 neo-noir film '' B.A. Pass'', for which she was awarded the Filmfare Critics Awar ...

Short films

*''Nooran'' (2013), based on famous Punjabi author,

Balwant Gargi Balwant Gargi (4 December 1916 – 22 April 2003) was an Indian Punjabi language dramatist, theatre director, novelist, and short story writer, and academic. Early life On 4 December 1916, in Canal House in Sehna, Barnala (Punjab), Balwant Gar ...

's story ''Rabbo Marasan'', which represents a woman's emotions, Directed by Navtej Sandhu, was sent for

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

-Short Film Corner. *''Kambdi Deorri (The Shivering Gateway)'' (2014), based on famous Punjabi author,

Jaswant Singh Kanwal Jaswant Singh Kanwal (27 June 1919 – 1 February 2020) was an Indian novelist, short story writer and essayist of the Punjabi language. He was born in the village of Dhudike, Moga District, Punjab, India. As a young teenager he left school and ...

's story ''Akk the Amrit'', which shows the deteriorating situation of ties within families, Directed by Navtej Sandhu, was again sent for

-Short Film Corner. *''The Half Ticket'' (2018), which was based on a true love story in which the needs of the world overshadow true love, is written and directed by Channa Rai, and stars Victor John. was in Nominated for

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BAF ...

at Pune Film Festival-2018. *''Sutta Naag'' (2014), adapted from

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

winner Punjabi writer, Late Ram Sarup Ankhi's short story of same name. The narrative portrays 50 years old Punjab and addresses serious subjects like infidelity and the suppression of women has been premiered at ''Punjabi International Film Festival, Toronto''. *''Khoon'' (2015), film based on

Gurbachan Singh Bhullar Gurbachan Singh Bhullar (born 18 March 1937) is a Punjabi author of short stories. In 2005, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his short story collection ''Agni-Kalas''. On 11 October 2015 Bhullar joined other Punjabi writers in retu ...

's Short story was shown at the Punjabi International Film Festival, Toronto. *''Daughter of the Bin'' (2015), based on famous Play writer, Dr. Jatinder Brar's play, which shows the plight of the newly born girl child thrown in the dustbin and adopted by a beggar, award-winning short film. *''Gawachi Pagg (The Lost Turban)'' (2016), based on famous Punjabi writer,

's story, a very emotional and powerful story of an innocent young boy who was looking for his "Lost Esteem" during the militancy period in the era of 80s' in Punjab, internationally critically acclaimed short film Directed by Navtej Sandhu. *''Zindagi A life of Kinner'' (2012), based on the story of Jagdev Dhillon, talks about the lives of the third gender, Eunuch (

Hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...

). The film was directed by Harman Aggarwal and was showcased in Punjabi International Film Festival, Toronto and Delhi International Film Festival. *Heer Unstoppable (2017) Based on the Plight of women in Punjab who are married to NRI's without any Background check. The Film was official selection to Five International Film Festivals with winning Best Director for Jonita Doda at Pink city International Film Festival. *''RAIN'' (Simran Sidhu, 2017) is the story of a farmer (Bittu Bajwa) on the verge of suicide as he waits for it to rain. The winner of six international awards (including one for Best Drama at Festigious L.A. and a Remi Award, whose previous recipients include Hollywood legends Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas), writer-director Simran Sidhu's mini-epic also boasts a sweeping score by the world renowned Indonesian composer Elwin Hendrijanto, and guest stars Yashpal Sharma who was so fond of the script that he did the film for free. *''Bhulekha'' (2018), based on famous Punjabi author,

's story ''Vehan paye Dariya'', beautiful love story with very different kind of misunderstanding, Directed by Navtej Sandhu.

Highest-grossing Punjabi films (worldwide)

Awards

* Filmfare Awards *

* Brit Asia Film Awards

Personalities

Directors

* InsideAKY * Himanshu Dhar * Gaurav Manku * Dev Choudhary *

Amberdeep Singh Amberdeep Singh is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter and producer associated with Punjabi films. Life and career Singh did his schooling at Government Senior Secondary School in Abohar and then studied B. Com at DAV College, Abohar. Af ...

* Amitoj Maan *

Amit Prasher Amit Prasher is an Indian film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director ha ...

* Anurag Singh *

Baljit Singh Deo Baljit Singh Deo is an Indian music and movie director of Punjabi language. Early life Baljit Singh Deo was born in Jalandhar, 1900–1950 Punjab, India. At an early age, he moved to England with his family where he did his studies in engineer ...

* Balwant Dullat * Channa Rai * Chitrarth Singh *

* VFX Navi * Harry Baweja *

Jagdeep Sidhu Jagdeep Sidhu is an Indian film director, writer, screenwriter and dialogue writer associated with Punjabi and Hindi cinema. He has been nominated for seven awards for categories "Best Screenplay", "Dialogue", and "Direction" PTC Punjabi Film Aw ...

Ksshitij Chaudhary Ksshitij Chaudhary is an Indian Punjabi film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. Th ...

* Manbhavan Singh *

Manmord Sidhu Manmord Sidhu, is an Indo-Canadian film producer, director, and distributor who is primarily known for his work in Punjabi films. Manmord Sidhu was 20 when he moved to Vancouver with his family. There he enrolled in Vancouver Film School. Sidhu ...

* Manmohan Singh *

Manoj Punj Manoj Punj was an Indian Punjabi film director. He directed the hits in Punjabi Cinema. After graduating with a degree in arts, and experiencing theater in Chandigarh, he assisted Prof. P. S. Nirola who made corporate and documentary films. He ...

* Navalpreet Rangi *

* Nidhi.M. Singh * Pali Bhupinder Singh *

Pankaj Batra Pankaj Batra is an Indian film director. Pankaj Batra comes from Chandigarh in India. He has more than 10 years of experience as a director in Indian cinema. He is working in Punjabi cinema, from 2005. Batra is a Mumbai-based film director kno ...

Rohit Jugraj Chauhan Rohit Jugraj Chauhan is an Indian writer and director in the Punjabi cinema and Bollywood film industry. He has written screenplay for films like Players Players may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Players'' (1979 film), a film ...

Simerjit Singh Simerjit Singh (born 6 December 1973) is an Indian film director and writer. He is best known for directing the Punjabi film Angrej. Career After completing his graduation Simerjit moved to Mumbai in 1997 to pursue his passion of films. He s ...

Smeep Kang Smeep Kang is an Indian actor, film producer and director who works in Punjabi and Hindi cinema. He graduated from Punjab University, Chandigarh with a degree in chemical engineering. He is well known for directing the Punjabi comedy films ''Ch ...

Sukh Sanghera Sukh Sanghera is a Canadian film and music video director associated with Punjabi-language films and music. He has directed over 300 Punjabi music videos. He has been nominated for various awards at '' PTC Punjabi Music Awards'', winning one f ...

* Sukhminder Dhanjal

Actors

File:Amrinder Singh Gill.jpg,

, star of ''

'' and ''

'' File:Babbu Maan Vancouver 2010.jpg,

, star of ''Hashar'' and '' Ekam – Son of Soil'' File:Binnu Dhillon.jpg,

, star of ''

'' and ''

'' File:Diljit Dosanjh during Soorma promotion 05.jpg,

, star of '' Jatt & Juliet'' and ''

'' File:Gippy Grewal in Chandigarh (cropped).jpg,

, star of '' Carry on Jatta 2'' and ''

'' File:Gurdas Mann.jpg,

, star of ''

'' and ''Ucha Dar Babe Nanak Da'' File:Harbhajan-Mann1.jpg,

, star of ''

Asa Nu Maan Watna Da ''Asa Nu Maan Watna Da'' is a Punjabi movie directed by Manmohan Singh released in 2004 and starring Harbhajan Mann. Plot Calgary-based businessman Kanwaljit Singh Dhillon sends money home to his brother, Deep, to invest in some property. Now ...

'' and ''

Jee Aayan Nu ''Jee Ayan Nu'' ( en, Welcome) is a Punjabi drama film, released on 8 November 2002. It stars Harbhajan Mann in the lead role with Priya Gill. It was directed by Manmohan Singh. It is one of the first most successful movie in Punjabi cinema, a ...

'' File:Jassi Gill.JPG,

, star of '' Mr & Mrs 420'' and '' Sargi'' File:Neeru Bajwa at Kochi International Fashion Week 2011 02.jpg,

, star of ''

'' and ''

'' File:Rana Ranbir.jpg,

, star of ''

Ardaas ''Ardaas'' is a Balmiki ritual performed in the Ashram at the beginning of the community service called Puja. It is performed standing facing the murti of Valmiki Valmiki (; Sanskrit: वाल्मीकि, ) is celebrated as the har ...

'' and ''Asees'' File:Sargun Mehta at a pre-Diwali party.jpg,

, star of ''

'' and ''

'' File:Sonam Bajwa (cropped).jpg,

Sonam Bajwa Sonampreet Bajwa (born 16 August 1989) is an Indian model and actress who predominantly appears in Punjabi language films. In addition to few Tamil and Telugu films. She participated in the Femina Miss India contest in 2012. Sonam Bajwa star ...

, star of ''

'' and ''

'' File:Kulbir Jhinjer Gurbir Ghumaan.jpg,

Tarsem Jassar Tarsem Jassar is a Punjabi singer, songwriter and actor associated with Punjabi films and music. He is well known for his work in films ''Rabb Da Radio ''Rabb Da Radio'' () is a 2017 Indian Punjabi-language film directed by Tarnvir Singh ...

, star of

and

File:Guggu-gill.jpg,

Gugu Gill Kulwinder Singh Gill, (Jan 14, 1960) better known as Guggu Gill, is an Indian film actor who mainly works in Punjabi cinema. He was one of the leading actors in Punjabi cinema in the 1990s along with Yograj Singh. He has done 65-70 films so far. ...

, star of Putt Jattan De and

The Punjabi film industry has produced a number of successful actors, actresses, writers, directors and filmmakers, many of whom have been known internationally. * InsideAKY * B.N. Sharma *

* Nav Bajwa *

Ranjit Bawa Ranjit Singh Bajwa (born 14 March 1989) known professionally as Ranjit Bawa is an Indian singer and actor associated with Punjabi language music and films. He rose to fame from his single "Jatt Di Akal" which broke many Punjabi records. He made ...

Shavinder Mahal Shivendra Mahal (born in 1957 in Ropar) is an Indian actor, anchor and movie director. He began his career with serials like his dual role portrayal of Parshurama and Shiva in the mega-epic ''Mahabharata'' (1988). He has done many serials in ...

Sardar Sohi Sardar Sohi, born Parmjeet Singh Sohi, is an Indian Punjabi actor and writer. He is from Palasaur near Dhuri. He is best known for the films ''Baghi'', ''The Legend of Bhagat Singh ''The Legend of Bhagat Singh'' is a 2002 Indian Hindi-langu ...

Actresses *

Himanshi Khurana Himanshi Khurana (born 27 November 1991) is an Indian model, actress and singer who works in Punjabi films. She appeared in the Punjabi movie '' Sadda Haq''. In 2019, she participated in the reality show '' Bigg Boss 13'' as a contestant. Ear ...

* Japji Khaira *

Juhi Chawla Juhi Chawla (born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress, film producer and entrepreneur. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and v ...

Mahi Gill Rimpy Kaur "Mahie" Gill (born 19 December 1975) is an Indian actress, working in the Hindi and Punjabi film industries. She is best known for her role of Paro in Anurag Kashyap's critically acclaimed Hindi film '' Dev.D'', a modern take on Sa ...

Monica Gill Monica Gill is an American model, actress, beauty pageant title holder. Gill won the Miss India Worldwide 2014 on 21 June 2014. She is also Miss India USA winner on 26 November 2013 while serving as Miss India New England. In 2015, she parti ...

Nimrat Khaira Nimrat Khaira is a Punjabi singer, and actress known for her work in Punjabi- language music and films. Early life Born in Gurdaspur, Khaira started singing in third grade. She is the only child of her parents. She completed her schooling from ...

Nirmal Rishi Nirmal Rishi is an Indian Punjabi film and television actress. She is most remembered for her role as Gulabo Maasi in her first movie Long Da Lishkara (1983). She is best known for appearing in Punjabi movies like Nikka Zaildar, Nikka Zail ...

Simi Chahal Simi may refer to: Places * ''Symi'', also transliterated as Simi, a Greek island * Simi Valley, California * Simi Hills, California, a mountain range ** Simi Peak * Arroyo Simi, California, sometimes called Simi Creek * '' Kato Simi'', in Crete, ...

Wamiqa Gabbi Wamiqa Gabbi (born 29 September 1993) is an Indian actress, who works in Punjabi, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films. She made her screen debut in the Hindi film ''Jab We Met'' (2007) with a small role. But her major success came with ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cinema of Punjab Punjabi language Cinema by language of India

History

Sound films (1930s–1946)

Post–Punjab partition

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

Festivals

Film distribution and production companies

Distribution

Parallel cinema

Short films

Highest-grossing Punjabi films (worldwide)

Awards

Personalities

Directors

Actors

See also

References