Godday Godday Chaa

Story: The film shows the era leading up to 1980s when women were barred from accompanying baraats in Punjab. This begins to change when Rani (Sonam Bajwa), a newly wed girl with a secondary level education, decides that women folk should also accompany baraats. However, this doesn’t go down well with the village men who are the custodian of traditions and instigate Rani’s in-laws and her husband, Bagga (Gitaj Bindrakhia) to subjugate her through patriarchal ‘force’. Rani is forced to back down when her father-in-law threatens to throw her out of his house. But, seeing the state of women not allowed to accompany their own son’s, brother’s baraats, she begins plotting a plan while maintaining a cover of apologetic innocence in front of the men. The only exceptional man being her husband, who is privy to her plan and supports her. Rani uses her younger sister, Nimmo (Tania) as a pawn for her plan and gets her betrothed to her husband’s brother, Pinta (Gurjazz). It all ends with the men conceding to women’s presence as baraatis, from both the villages of Pinta and Nimmo.



Review: While it is not new to see a slice of Punjab’s rituals in films, Godday Godday Chaa takes the next step by first, identifying the reasons for some practices, and then going on to show a way to shatter them with respect for all parties. The credit for this brilliant concept is shared by writer Jagdeep Sidhu for having written a script with a hitherto little-known ritual of Punjab, and the director Vijay Kumar Arora for executing it with a flawless perfection. Though the film highlights a regressive practice prevalent in older Punjab, the narrative also addresses the reasons behind the practice. It does so in instances like Rani’s first attempt to send women in the baraat failing after the women are teased by men from the village, resulting in them being sent back home. This brings the men back to defending as the reason their ancestors set this practice of not allowing women as baraatis.

Undoubtedly, the story remains the focus of the film, but if it were not supported by a stellar star cast, each of them bringing in their veteran acting bits, it would have remained only a story, not a visual narrative. Sonam Bajwa surpasses herself with every film, and is no different in this one. As she leads the pack of women to liberation from shackling traditions, she does not let Rani become aggressively masculine, yet manages to rebel with feminine grace and rural naivety of her character. Tania, who plays the bubbly, cheeky younger sister to Rani, has brough Nimmo alive as the only livewire woman in both the villages who has the spunk to speak her mind without worrying about repercussions.

Kudos to Gitaj and Gurjazz playing the two leading men, for not being overawed by the experienced actresses and playing their part of dominating husbands with conviction.

The film has nearly all seasoned actresses from the industry, from Nirmal Rishi, Seema Kaushal, Rupinder Rupi, to Gurpreet Bhangu, playing the subservient village wives and helping bring the narrative to a logical climax. It is rare to see Nirmal play a submissive wife in a film, as she brings a different shade to her talent.

Godday Godday Chaa will remain etched in memory as a film that highlighted the cusp of change in Punjab.