Review: Movie - Dharti (Punjabi)

Well I have been waiting for a good Punjabi movie for a long time so when the promising promos for Jimmy Sheirgill starrer came up, I was naturally excited. Last Jimmy movie in Punjabi that I remember was "Yaaran Naal Baharaan" which was thoroughly enjoyable and all the more the reason for me to go for 'Dharti'.

Plot:

Well honestly the promos were grossly misleading, the promos had projected that the movie had a lot to do with Air Force and little with Politics but the plot was the exact opposite. It's an attempt to make 'Rajneeti' in Punjabi although it has nothing in common with that film. But seriously a ‘Bad’ one. It looked more like an attempt to cash in on the recent success of that movie. It’s a Jimmy Sheirgill production. Most of the movie has been shot in Chandigarh and around – you can easily spot landmarks – PU campus, FunCity, Naada Sahib, Madhya Marg etc. Sadly, the production team has spent most of its money on the cars used by the Characters rather than on actual production quality. If you have a good story to tell viewers won’t mind not seeing any luxury cars on screen, they see them on the roads anyways.

Cast/Performances:

The cast is impressive for a regional movie but I wish they had used it better. Jimmy looks good, acts well but his moustaches are overkill as is his Air Force dress which he is wearing even in scenes where it’s not required. Prem Chopra is endearing, good to see him on screen. Ranvijay is wasted. Was Surveen Chawla the leading lady? I didn’t see her much on the screen. Rahul Dev looks impressive and has screen presence but his character is too weak in the movie. Rest of the supporting cast is stereotypical and sketchy. Good to see Jaspal Bhatti and his wife on screen but he seemed lost between playing a senior Air Force officer and a filler for the missing comedian and got lost in no man’s land in the process.

Screenplay/Dialogs:

The screenplay along with the direction is the weakest link of the movie. In fact, at times you felt there wasn’t any screenplay at all. The shooting of the movie, it seems, started when they had just a basic plot and the dialogs look as if they have been done extempore or probably just thought of minutes before the scene was shot. The editing is tacky and even though we watched the movie in a theatre, it seemed as if it was ripped from a pirated DVD where scenes have been omitted to fit on a DVD. There are gaps the size of potholes in the plot and I don’t even want to know how and why Jimmy’s brother in the movie goes to meet him in an Audi but returns in a Pajero.

Music/Songs:

The music is incomprehensive and forgettable. It is sad that a movie that represents a land that cherishes it’s dances, music, poetry, Sufism and hordes of singers in every other Gali had to rely on rap-like songs which sounded more like poorer cousins of a very poor Hindi movie score.

 Verdict: Half star. I wanted to go with 1 star for getting such a nice cast together and making the attempt but am deducting half of it for wasting the cast and making a poor attempt. 

Note: The reason we could endure the entire movie was: 

1st - it was in Punjabi (so I stayed back as a mark of respect, very few attempts are made to make a Punjabi film).

2nd - Excellent Chai, Samosa and Pakoras @ Funasia, Richardson :)