“Punjabi Aa Gaye Oye!”
Since the actor singer Diljit Dosanjh has sold stadiums and fillings to the edge, you can successfully agree to the above explanation that the singer has pronounced. In his now viral video of a concertDosanjh, who started his career in the Punjabi film industry, announced the kind of fights that he was exposed to as an actor to practice the Sikh belief. From the decision to fashionable outfits to mainstream bullywood films, the actor spoke About how the fights existed due to his identity, wherever he went.
“Pehla Kehnde Sardar Banda Fashion Ni Kar Sakda. Hauptkeya Main Ta Karke Dikhau. Fir Kehthde Sardar Banda Filma Vich Ni aa Sakda. Hauptkeya Main Ta Karke Dikhau.
Ultimately, Dosanjh naturally broke the bonds and has probably developed as one of the largest actors of the Sikh belief.
Dosanjh’s arrival in the mainstream and global pop culture scene has inspired countless young people to attract turbans, who finally see a fragment of itself on the screen. His arrival seems to have made it “cool” to be a Sikh artist Given the numbers His films and songs now show. On April 27, 2024, the BC Place Stadium of Vancouver organized the Dosanjh script history by organizing the largest Punjabi concert outside of India as about 54,000 fans present. While Dosanjh is probably one of the biggest entertainers from belief, Bollywood saw the Sikh belief in different films, some even focused on faith, such as Singh is Kinng (2008), Singh is Bliing (2015) and a flying Jatt (2016). However, the representation of Sikhs has always remained questionable, since the roles often regard the men of faith as scholars Anjali Gera Roy, as a “rude rustic” or as a “comic elements” who support the film.
A lot was seen, said and discussed the representation of the men of faith. There seems to be a gap in terms of representation and discussion when it comes to the women of faith. As many scholars as Laura Mulveyhave argued in the past that women are often represented in the cinema through the male look.
Parvinder Mehta argues in her book “Imagining Sikhs” (2013), as Sikhs in Bollywood, which they refer to as “Bolly Sikhs”, are shown by a “prevailing” and “controlling look”. Mehta argues that Sikh’s “remain marginalized in difference” and are only recognized by a Hindu center lens of consent. Therefore, SIKH characters that attract turbans remain often shifted by their original meaning and meaning, since they tend to be represented by the “Hindu view of the privilege”.
If you expand this argument in relation to the interface of faith and gender, you may argue that Sikh women are confronted with both the double strain on the male look and what Mehta calls the “Hindu view”.
Sikh women in Bollywood
Since Sikh women, who are not as obvious as their male colleagues who normally attract turbans, we often see the experience of Sikh women who are confused with that of Hindu women. This is seen by visible holes in diagrams that do not even respect the basics of religion. In the film Hum Tum (2004), when Rani Mukherjees supposedly offered a cigarette by Sikh character by Saif Ali Khan, she tries and tries. However, it is generally known that practicing Sikhs does not smoke, but this fact is not taken into account in the film. Not only does it seem as if the stereotypes that cloud faith, like someone who views Sikhs as an aggressive or strange elements, also hand over to the women of faith.
Source: Screengrab of the film
Either depicted as a chirpy, bubbling girls like Jab We Meven (2007)Veera in Dil Bole Hadippa (2009) and Mini in Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya (2012), mainly with shorn hair or as an aggressive, bold women like Balbir Kaur in Chak de India (2007). What is essentially lost is the experience of the ‘normal’ Sikh woman who does not try to fight or have a happy-go-lucky personality.
In Jab We Met (2007), a film that collected a massive praise and a cult support, we see, a chirpy, bubbling Sikh girl who fluctuates between her aggressive and playful behavior. In a certain scene, she is even seen when she threatens people by proud of their identity as ‘Sikhni’. Films such as Dil Bole Haddipa (2009) and Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya (2012) also show women as carefree and factual who often serve as easier and strange elements of the film.
In Chak de! India (2007), the Sikh character Balbir Kaur, shows aggression from the beginning of the film and continues until it is “trained” by the trainer. In other films such as Singh is Kinng (2007), while the belief by Akshay Kumar, who moves a Sikh man, glorifies and celebrated, there is hardly a focus on Katrina Kaif’s trust in the film, which also seems to be from a similar background. Although the film is marketed as a film that celebrates the Sikh religion, it only touches the men who practice and probably neglects the females of faith, as is so clear in the title.
What is also lost on the screen is the representation of the baptized Sikh women or Amritdhari women who have never seen themselves on the screen. Perhaps because of the lack of a “glamor, ‘element or a concern, they do not grab the eye apples of the masses.
Sikhs as a comic elements
As Anjali Gera Roy argues in her chapter in the book Sikh formation, Sikhs are either shown as a “brave warrior” or “rude rustic”. In order to add a reference to “humor” in the film, you can see Sikh characters that are pressed on the edge. The argument also extends to films like the son of Sardar (2012), in which Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt, the role of Sikhs, which are only reminded of the size of their faith, are reminded of the size of faith after the end of the film. From the young children, the stars for the entire duration of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) to Anupam Kher’s character in Mohabbatein (2000), who speaks of himself in the third person and speaks a polka dot Patka and Dungarees. If you need an introduction to the use of Sikhs as a humorous elements, a closer look at Johnny Lever’s filmography should be a suitable introduction.
Source: Screengrab of the film
For example, Johnny Lever, who plays a Sikh, embodies every stereotype of the book with which the community is connected to the film Raja Hindustani (1996). From the style of the turban to Bhangra with Aamir Khan’s character, while we express the random things with Punjab, we see an ignorant and careless representation of the community. What is sad is that this is not the first and last time that lever has done this. In the film Badal (2000), Lever and Upsana Singh’s representation as Sikh couple can serve as a guide, as Sikh characters are not used as comic supplements in the film. From dialogue to clothing to accent, the film goes all the way to make even the stereotypes an extremely exaggerated representation and seems to be severely replaced by reality. From Arshad Warsis GHanta Singh in Double Dhamaal (2011) to Vir Das And Bollywood in Santa Banta PVT Ltd (2016) Bollywood keeps doing.
Lately in the film Good Newwz (2019), which should be a comedy overall. We see Diljit Dosanjh’s character as the “unaffected” man, who always cracks jokes and an individual and is frowned upon by the apparently noble and “sophisticated” couples by Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor.
Women of faith in Punjabi cinema
The role and representation of women in the Punjabi cinema has developed over the years. It is not unusual to recognize female Sikh characters in Punjabi films. Like Dr. Harneet Kaur states in her paper, “Contemporary Punjabi cinema: chronology and culture”, the role of women in the Punjabi cinema between diametrically opposite roles: mother or caregiver and lover.
Source: IMDB
Dr. Kaur continues to find out in her newspaper how women in Punjabi cinema are idealized versions that can be seen by the man’s eyes and are deeply embedded in patriarchal norms. Heldinnen are often “light -skinned with long hair”, and the matron/mother who are “plump and normally a nag”. In the middle of these characteristics you can see the development of Punjabi women. In recent years, however, a lot has changed in Punjabi cinema. The foreign climb and popularity of female Punjabi superstars such as Sonam Bajwa, Neeru Bajwa, Nimrit Khaira and Sargun Mehta have created a sum that we women no longer see as mere accessories, but as a strong, independent figures for themselves. In recent years, some women-centered stories such as Channo (2016), Gelo (2016), Daana Paani (2018), Needhi Singh (2017), Gudiyaan Patole (2019) and Ardab Mutiyaraan (2019) have been recorded. The last films with women as central characters challenged the dogmas.
With more and more Punjabi actresses such as Sargun Mehta, Neeru Bajwa and Mandy Takhar, the producers can only hope that stories from women will enter the industry and change their status quo.
As Kaur notes, films are incomplete these days, without actresses like Nirmal Rishi, Anita Devgan, Prabhsharan Kaur, Neeta Mohindra, Jaswant Daman and Rupinder Rupi. The role of the matriarchs plays their presence little or nothing for the action; However, their representations show how Kaur defines, Punjabi culture, food, clothing and mannerisms. However, the Punjabi cinema, which reflects the realities of culture and society, has to make a major contribution to creating a strong feminist discourse, Bollywood offers a lot to learn it. With more and more Punjabi actresses such as Sargun Mehta, Neeru Bajwa and Mandy Takhar, the producers can only hope that stories from women will enter the industry and change their status quo.
It is also important to understand that we would like to expand our horizon to newer identities and integrated societies during the time when we want to expand our horizon. Where we should perhaps take a look at the representation for alternative genders and sexualities of faith, we are at a standstill point where we can hardly manage any form of representation for faith, let alone the marginalized genders.
The reductionist approach, which reduces and twists the areas of the identity of people in tasty, glamorous way, distorts the representation of real people. Such a representation creates a great alienation between a person who keeps them and the art form itself. While Sikh men may get rolls in Bollywood, a script that makes them as a protagonist is still far from the standard defined by the industry. While we still see Sikh men in supportive roles, you can certainly come to the conclusion that the arrival of the women of trust in the mainstream does not yet have to go to a course. Until then, the regional films have only enough from the start.
