Chandigarh/ Punjab (May 30, 2014): Punjabi film ‘47 To 84’ that was released globally today, is based on the serious circumstances through which Punjab suffered. Either it is the partition of 1947 or the riots of 1984, it was Punjab which suffered more than the rest of India.
It’s been 30 years but the victims are still in the vague of justice. The presenter and the writer of this film Babli Singh is one of those victims. As the issue was serious, Babli Singh and his team faced a lot of problems during the production and post-production of the film.
47 to 84 Punjabi Movie
According to information released by the producers of the movie: ’47 to 84′ is the journey of a young Sikh girl Sukhmani who loses all her loved ones and is forced to leave the newly formed Pakistan during partition. Alone in the world with no where to go and no belongings, Sukhmani finds her way to Delhi. Fending for herself, Sukhmani over time builds a family and life here. India was now what she called home and felt a strong sense of attachment and belonging here. But it was not before long that her world was turned upside down once again during the anti-sikh Genocide of 1984. All her loved ones lives were in danger. The country that she called her motherland was now the most unsafe place for her, her family and her community. Will the Sikh community be able to live safe and secure in India and call it their home?
According to YesPunjab.Com: “Babli Singh is associated with Shemaroo from last 30 years and the company itself motivated him to make the film. As the subject was sensitive, Babli Singh and his team were denied shooting at several places. Consequently, the 35-40 day shooting schedule was stretched to 60 days”.
“Even during the post-production, the promo of the film was rejected by the censor board on the grounds of communal disharmony. Babli Singh told that after a lot of problems our film was passed”.
“Other than his personal experiences, Babli Singh researched a lot before writing this movie. He told that internet was a big help. I also met the victims of 1984 and heard their stories. Believe me, out of every 10 persons I met, 6 were the victims of 1947 as well”.
“Director of the film Rajeev Sharma had been known for his earlier film ‘Nabar’ which bagged a national award. Rajeev told, ‘When I met the writer of the film, I got ready from the inside as I could relate to the scene. My mother-in-law is also one of the victims. Even if we see on a social level, there is still no justice even after 30 years of the happening. It is worth pondering that Rajeev did a lot of research on the topic and left a big budget Hindi project to sign 47 To 84.”
“Appearing for the first time in a feature film, TV actress Natasha Rana feels connected and related to the film being a Punjabi. She feels that a strong image of a woman has been shown in her character of Sukhmani. She told that she took a lot of help from others on the sets to speak Punjabi. Zafar Dhillon, who is playing Sukhmani’s son in the film, is happy to work in such a film on a serious issue. He believes that such serious films should be regularly produced apart from routine comedy flicks, so that the audience get to watch the real cinema”.