Jagdeep Sidhu: If 'Harjeeta' had received the deserved appreciation, Punjabi cinema would have been different today

Today the Punjabi National Award-winning movie ‘

Harjeeta

’ has turned three years old. It is a sports biopic, based on the real-life story of Indian Hockey Player Harjeet Singh Tuli with Ammy Virk playing the lead. The movie was written by ‘Qismat’ fame director Jagdeep Sidhu, who on the third year anniversary of ‘Harjeeta’ had a hearty conversation with ETimes. Jagdeep told us how the concept of ‘Harjeeta’ came around, the struggles post-release, and much more.

The excerpts from the interview are below:
“I remember Harjeet's one of the pictures went viral, where he was sleeping holding the world cup. So I read about him, the whole journey. Then I had a word with Ammy regarding the same. I told him we can do this movie, however, for that you will have to work hard,” said Jagdeep.
“The journey of writing and making 'Harjeeta' was both interesting and time-consuming. We met Harjeet, his friends, family, well-wishers, coaches and gathered all material. There was a lot to tell and a very limited time period to tell the tale. This was the first time I was writing a sports biopic, so it was a challenge. Nevertheless, it was a great experience,” he added.
When ‘Harjeeta’ came out in 2018, it could not set the cash registers ringing at the box office. Reminiscing that time, Jagdeep Sidhu told us, “When the movie was first screened in Mumbai in the trial, we all were really happy to see our product, we had a feeling of satisfaction. Our director was really happy, we were getting a lot of appreciation. However, the first day when the movie officially came out, you get a gut feeling that whether the film will take off or not on the box office. We were feeling a little gloomy as we knew that the movie isn't getting the deserved response. Though we were getting words of appreciation from the people who were watching it, in the back of the mind we were in doubt that the box office isn't doing good.”

It was years after the release that ‘Harjeeta’ finally got recognition, and that too at a national platform. The movie bagged the Best Punjabi Film title and Sameep Singh got Best Child Artist for ‘Harjeeta’ at the

National Awards

.
“Getting a National Award was certainly a very big achievement. It gave me a sense of relief. Finally, the movie which could not get the deserved appreciation earlier on the box office finally was able to garner the right response. Moreover, I think we created history, as I am not sure if another Punjabi movie ever got two National Awards. We got Punjabi Best Film and Sameep Singh won the child artist title. It was a rare thing,” said Jagdeep Sidhu.
Further, Jagdeep also feels that though ‘Harjeeta’ won two national awards, a movie like it should have also worked well in the theatres. “The people who didn't believe in the movie, and didn't actually go and watch it in theatre, made me feel bad yes, at the same time it turned out as a huge loss for Punjabi cinema. If 'Harjeeta' had received the deserved appreciation, Punjabi cinema would have been different today. There would have been more sensible movies today, more relatable ones; and the industry would have witnessed growth. However, when a movie like this doesn't work at the box office, it scares the other filmmakers and everything goes back to square one. People then only make masala or commercial films. So when a good movie doesn't work, it leads to a great loss for all.”
Last but not least, on the third year anniversary of ‘Harjeeta’, Jagdeep ended the conversation on a heartwarming note. “Let the bygones be bygones, but from next time onwards when a movie like 'Harjeeta' comes, I would request the audience to take it more seriously, so that we get better content; so that our cinema grows,” he concluded.