Gurcharan Singh Pohli (born June 24, 1942) is an Indian singer and actor who worked in

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

and

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

. He is best known for his

duets with his wife, singer Promila Pammi. He was very active in the industry from the 1960s to the late 1980s. As an actor, he is most remembered for his role as Ghukkar in the movie ''Balbeero Bhabi'' (1981).

Early life and family background

Pohli was born in village Chak No. 51,

Pakpattan Pakpattan (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ), often referred to as Pākpattan Sharīf (; ''"Noble Pakpattan"''), is an ancient, historic city in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, serving as the headquarters of the Pakpattan Distr ...

Tehsil of

Montgomery District Montgomery District was an administrative district of the former Punjab Province of British India, in what is now Pakistan. Named after Sir Robert Montgomery, it lay in the Bari Doab, or the tract between the Sutlej and the Ravi rivers, extend ...

(now in

Pakpattan District Pakpattan District ( Punjabi and ), is a district of Punjab province in Pakistan, Pakpattan city is the district capital. Administrative division The district is divided into two tehsils, which contain a total of 63 Union Councils: Location ...

) of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

in British India. Due to partition, his family moved to village ''Kot Karor Kalan near''

Talwandi Bhai Talwandi Bhai is a town having a municipal council situated in Ferozepur district in the Indian state of Punjab. It is situated on national highways NH5 and NH54 (old NH15 and NH95). It started its journey as grain market The grain trade refe ...

Firozpur District Firozpur district, also known as Ferozepur district, is one of the twenty-three districts in the state of Punjab, India. Firozpur district comprises an area of . Firozpur (Ferozepur) is the capital city of the district. It is situated inside t ...

East Punjab East Punjab was a state of Dominion of India from 1947 until 1950. It consisted parts of the Punjab Province of British India that remained in India following the partition of the state between the new dominions of Pakistan and India by the ...

, India. He married his stage partner singer Promila Pammi and the family is now settled in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Career

He learned the music from Ustad Jaswant Bhanwra. He recorded mostly his songs and live performances with Promila Pammi for approximately 20 years. They were one of the most famous singing couples of Punjab in the 1970s and '80s as Pohli-Pammi. Pohli was always keen to work in movies. Director Boota Singh Shaad gave him first chance in his Punjabi movie ''Kulli Yaar Di'' (1969) as a playback singer. Pohli went to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

to try his luck in movies. He got a break as an actor in 1974 Hindi movie ''

Kora Badan ''Kora Badan'' is a 1974 Bollywood drama film directed by Boota Singh Shaad. Cast *Sunil Dutt *Dev Kumar * Paintal *Mala Sinha Mala Sinha (born Alda Sinha; 11 November 1936) is a former Indian actress who mainly worked in Hindi, ...

'', which was also directed by Boota Singh Shaad. After that, he worked in many Hindi movies such as '' Chattan Singh'', '' Paap Aur Punya'' and '' Sharafat Chhod Di Maine''. Pohli used 'Shera' as his screen name in most of his Hindi movies. He came back to Punjab and worked in few Punjabi movies as well. He is most remembered for his villainous role of Ghukkar in the Punjabi movie '' Balbeero Bhabi'' (1981). After that, he worked in a few other Punjabi movies such as ''Yaari Jatt Di'' (1984), ''Patola'' (1987) and ''Jatt Soormay'' (1988).

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pohli, Gurcharan 1942 births Living people Punjabi singers People from Pakpattan 20th-century Indian male actors Indian male film actors