Cine Punjab Exclusive
April 13, 2014
On heavy demand of our readers, we have written this article to address key issues related to the recent boycott of Punjabi films/albums of a few artists who endorsed Badals.
Photos like these are doing the rounds on social media.
"Punjab is going through a turbulent time." Our website is not a political or news website, hence we will not indulge into the above statement. We believe our website readers are well informed and intelligent to do their own research as to why we are saying this.
However, what we would like to bring forward through the platform of our website, with millions of people around the world, is the fact that
Punjabi Film and Music industry is also suffering from the current
POWER MACHINERY in the state.
Here's a few things we would like to bring to your knowledge about how the industry is being affected presently -1.) Theatrical Interference -
The
Leading Broadcast TV Network in Punjab, as a lot of people believe and have enough reason to do so, is being controlled by the power machinery of the state. This
TV Network formed their
Production House last year. Now, because of their venturing into film production and distribution, they are influencing theatrical releases of other Punjabi films.
Following are two examples of what they have done in the recent past. There are more such cases but these two are from reliable sources.-
Jatt and Juliet 2, (which was a sequel to the most successful film in Punjabi Cinema) and a loved film by itself was removed from single screens within two weeks of release despite its box office performance being great (It went on to run for several weeks at multiplexes).
This was done to accommodate a
FILM produced by the
Production House of this
TV Network.In fact, multiplexes were also pressurized to give this
FILM more screens and . A
senior manager from a leading national multiplex chain confirms that they were asked to remove Jatt and Juliet 2 so that competition could be removed.
Similarly, the release of
Best Of Luck, was impacted and interfered. The said
FILM produced by the
TV Network was forced to run in Punjab for several weeks, hence, not giving enough single screens for
Best of Luck.
2.) Impact on Release dates -
Gippy Grewal's
Jatt James Bond was announced to release on April 4, 2014. Posters were out with release dates in January first week itself. But this
TV Network announced their
SECOND FILM to release on April 11, 2014, hence, leaving
Jatt James Bond producers with no option but to post-pone their release. It will be interesting to see if
Jatt James Bond's theatrical distribution will also be affected since it is releasing within a gap of two weeks of this
TV Network's
SECOND FILM. Similarly, this
TV Network's
THIRD FILM is releasing on June 27, 2014 that was booked and announced for 1984 Punjab but they had to postpone by two weeks.
3.) Promotions - This
TV Network has the biggest network of broadcast media in Punjab. They are the makers and breakers basically. But is that ethical? At what cost are they doing it?
Most of the TV operations in Punjab are owned/controlled directly or indirectly by the
POWER MACHINERY of Punjab, this is something that has been said and proved before, many times.
Now, in our industry, this has left a huge impact. Anyone who miffs this
POWER MACHINERY gets harsh treatment from other TV channels that operate from the state. If the other TV channels are lenient, their channels face problems. The most prominent example of this is
Day and Night news channel which had taken off Punjab. All thanks to this
POWER MACHINERY.
4.) Film Award Ceremony - This
TV Network organizes its award ceremonies, both for Film and Music. Just talking about the film awards, this TV Network awarded four awards to its
FILM whereas not just critics but also common people feel there were better films and better deserving winners. An artist like Gippy Grewal who delivered four films (3 Hits) in 2013 was not given any award.
Why? Because he took a stand against this
TV Network's malpractices during his Best of Luck film promotion and release phase.
Now, something that is affecting a lot of Punjabi's (read fans) around the world is
why their favourite artists did endorsements for Badals!!!Answer is simple, nobody wants to stand against them. Whoever does, he/she gets affected professionally and ofcourse morally.We contacted well known personalities of Punjabi Cinema for this article, all of them openly told us the problems they faced but no one wants to come and speak it publicly. No one wants to face the consequences. As simple as that!
What do we need to do as FANSBe it Jazzy B, Gippy Grewal, Diljit Dosanjh or Miss Pooja, they all acknowledge the contribution that their
FANS have made to their lives. All these artists have worked very hard on their careers, most of them have had hard jobs abroad before they could afford to release their albums in the market.
We have supported them for so many years and they have worked to entertain us throughout these years but this is the time
they need our support the most.
Vote responsibly, not just for them but for yourself. Change the system, it is affecting everything and everyone, including these artists.Should these artists apologize for what they did?May be.
I say "Maybe" because they have hurt their
FANS. That's it. Not for endorsing Badals. Because if they don't endorse them, they or their films/albums will suffer from the above mentioned reasons.
So, if you are a fan of these artists, you need to support them now. Support them by making a positive vote this time.
Let us know your views in the comments below. And if you agree to what we have said here, please Share/Spread this article so that more people can know what's going on in Punjab or Punjabi film industry specifically.
