RATAN AULAKH
WITH TORCHES OF TRIUMPH
Time was when all the news that came from Punjab was good news, whether it was news about the weather, the harvest, the health of the farmer or the soldier or of our good-old Punjabi films. Some of the best films made in Punjabi were films like Nanak Naam Jahaaz Hai, Nanak Dukhiya Sab Sansaar, Man Jeete Jag Jeete, Udeekan, Gidha, Sarpanch, Lambardini, Bhagat Dhanna Jat, Sawa Lakh Se Ek Ladaon, Long Da Lashkara, Ooncha Dar Baba Nanak Da, Chan Pardesi, Shaheed-E-Mohabbat and Mamala Gadbad Hai. They were good films, meaningful films, entertaining films, even very enlightening films, some of them. Their subjects and the way they were presented appealed to the emotions till the terrorists attacked the golden fields and spread terror, bloodshed, misery and death all over the state which Guru Nanak showered with all his blessings once. It looked like man had turned into beast and had forgotten the difference between man and his Guru. Such disastrous times had never come in the history of Punjab since time immemorial. For months together both Guru and man seemed to have shut their eyes on Punjabi cinema and a time came when Punjabi films were almost given up for dead.

The circumstances grew more and more fearful and chilling when the terrorists targeted people from the film industry, both stars and filmmakers. They came up with their worst when they shot one of the most promising young directors of Punjabi cinema, Virendra, while he was shooting for one of his films. The atmosphere was so tense that some of the filmmakers who had money fled to Mumbai and tried to make all kinds of films in Hindi. To hell, they said with Punjabi cinema which gave them nothing but terror, misery and even death.

The few that were still blessed with optimism stayed back in the hope that good days would come back one day soon. Their optimism had no solid foundation but they still kept going on. They stayed on even as the cruel shadow of terrorism engulfed the entire state in the early ’80s. All creative movements which had something to do with talent came to a standstill and were buried with the moments that stood still were dreams of people who wanted to see Punjabi films reach national, even international fame on pure merit alone.

But Punjab and its people known for their "fighting spirit" since ages has been destroyed many times but has always risen up like a blazing phoenix, which has always been known as “the sword-hand of India”. Punjab has faced all kinds of invaders and have suffered heavy losses but have always bounced back, even risen from millions of pyres to fight back like never before. The people of Punjab were aware that they had to build Punjab again, build every bridge and broken down mansions, build government houses, build the entire state, which included the making of new films which would bring enlightenment and entertainment to a people who had lived in darkness and fear for months and even years together.

There was hope some light at the end of the tunnel Punjab was turned into and dreams among the optimists, the brave producers who continued making films during the chaotic times, the killing times, in the killing fields of Punjab. Dara Singh, Preeti Sapru, Ravinder Ravi, BS Shaad, Karan Maan, Iqbal Dhillon, Iqbal Chanana, the Maheshwaris and some others kept the fire burning but their efforts were not enough to bring alive an industry in mess that Punjab was reduced to and the mass invasion of Satellite TV almost killed a Punjabi films.
Time passed and with time God succeeded in smashing the evil designs of Satan and peace returned to Punjab. It was like Paradise regained.

All kinds of activities in the film sector soon increased. The government of Punjab promised are kinds of help, (though as usual most of them turned out to be false election promises of the "political brothers" who ruled Punjab) and several films went on the floor. Dara Singh, BS Shaad, Preeti Sapru, and Ravinder Ravi were front runners once again but the theatre-going audience of Punjab was sick of the C grade films produced during the riots that they had developed a habit of avoiding the trouble of going to the theatre and sitting at home watching TV programmes even though they were of a very low quality. It was very tough to bring them back to the cinema halls.

But then a "mis-directed" film by a "mistaken" Sardar, Jaspal Bhatti made a film based on "mistaken identity" and a film based on a historical truth by Iqbal Dhillon and Raj Babbar, Shaheed Uddham Singh and a love story across the borders by Manjit Maan, Shaheed-E-Mohabbat Boota Singh forced the audience to come back to the theatres in throngs to watch the kind of films they once believed would never be made in Punjab under the circumstances the state had gone through.

But this is not enough. This is not even the beginning. A lot more has to be done for Punjabi films. It is not easy to make local stars in Punjabi films like the South because the whole of Punjab understands Hindi and most of the big stars of Hindi films belong to Punjab.

In this competitive world where the best of films made all over the world are available in the market, it is not easy to compete with them with the shoe-string budgets with which Punjabi films were made.

Keeping all this in mind, five friends, who have a common interest in good cinema decided to make a good Punjabi film, a film which belon-ged not to any individual but to the whole of Pun-jab. They wanted to show the world the flesh and blood, the tears and joys of Punjab. They selected a script whose hero is the whole of Punjab. The true Punjab, the actual Punjab which the cruel hands of time divided into two - the story of Punjab from 1947 to 1985.

The recent happenings in Punjab have yet and will not be forgotten for long. The pains no one else can forget, Punjab is rapidly going through a phase, a magical recovery which has almost no parallel. The love that blossomed during this time, the music of Punjab which drowned all the pains, the courage of Punjab that survived all the onslaughts, the bonds of love of Punjabis that are an example for the world worked. They hope to bring all this alive on screen. A power, an evil power which is Almighty, a power that cannot be destroyed easily by men, a power whom they cannot beat because that power is known as the Almighty power. “We want to ask Him why Punjab? We want to ask Him why he has instilled so much hatred in mankind? We want to ask him why man kills man? We want to ask him why He does not let us live in peace. We also want to tell Him if You don’t want to change, it is Your wish, We know we can’t beat You, but We can certainly challenge You, We wont let You destroy our spirit, You do what ever You like, but we will fight back with the very power You Yourself have blessed us. We will sing again, we will dance again, we will laugh again, we know that in this beautiful world love is the only way to live - ONLY THROUGH LOVE,” Ratan Aulakh, a filmmaker says.

The title of the film Ratan is making is Mitter Pyre Nu Had Muridan Da Kehna (a saying by Guru Gobind Singh when he complains to God and the only Punjabi Shabad he has written). It will be written and directed by Ratan (brother-in-law of the legendary Dara Singh) and produced by Avtar Singh, Joga Singh, Jaykant Shah and Bakhshis S Bahia.

And what makes the big difference to the film is the coming together of all the big stars of Punjabi cinema who had fled for various reasons of their own, out of fear more than anything else, coming back in a big way. Take a look at the starcast and you will know what I am saying - Dara Singh, Vindoo Singh, Rajeshwari Sachdeva, Daman S Maan, Rama Vij, Avtar Gill and Mukesh Rishi. Ratan says two more heroines and one more hero have still to be signed.

The people of Punjab has always encouraged its youth to come up with something brave, bold, bright and brilliant in every field. Their elders even say that the night comes to the Punjab only to find some rest, otherwise the Sun belongs to the Punjab all day long. They have bent at times but they can never be broken or beaten to the dust. Their enemies have tried their worst through the ages and failed miserably. I am sure they will face this "battle" too, a team with a captain like Ratan Aulakh who will lead his force fighting right to the bitter end. It should never fail because if it fails the whole state fails and its people fail and when a state’s people fail there is absolutely no need to lose hope, no need to breed pessimism of any kind.

Ali Peter John