Carry On Jatta 3 actress Sonam Bajwa on the Punjabi film industry: The preconceived notion that we are only making comedy films comes from their success rate

The actress explains why the pan-India audience thinks that Punjabi films are all about comedy

Sonam Bajwa and Gippy Grewal

Every film industry has a certain image. While the Telugu and Tamil film industries are known for their commercial potboilers, Malayalam cinema is known for its strong content. Bengali cinema is known for intellectual films, while Bollywood is perceived to be all about glitz and glamour. In the recent past, the Kannada film industry has been making a mark with the success of films like KGF and Kantara. When it comes to the Punjabi film industry, the general perception is that it is all about comedy.

Sonam Bajwa, who is awaiting the release of her new film Carry On Jatta 3, which also stars Gippy Grewal, shared her two cents on the matter.

Sonam told OTTplay, "I think somewhere it is partially true that in the Punjabi film industry, we only make comedy films. But there is a bigger reason behind such a perception, and I want to talk a little more about that. Carry On Jatta is one of the highest-grossing films. It is a commercially successful franchise, and that is why we have had three installments. In our film industry, even though we make films in different genres, everyone talks about those that are commercially successful. It is true that comedy and family entertainers are commercially successful. So, even though a film like 1984 was made, people do not talk much about it. Earlier, there was a notion that in the Punjabi film industry, action and romantic films did not do well commercially. When the film Qismat was released, it did really well at the box office. A second part was made, and then more romantic films started being released. I think the film industry is success-driven, and the perception is built on commercial success. So, once films of different genres, especially serious stories, start doing well, we will be able to change the notion."

Interestingly, Gippy Grewal, who is also the producer of Carry On Jatta 3, produced a film last year titled Maa, which starred Divya Dutta. It was an emotional story about a mother and received a lot of appreciation from cinegoers. In the past, some strong content-driven films like Shareek, starring Jimmy Shergill, and 1984, starring Diljit Dosanjh, were well received. Both films are emotional dramas. A film like Anhe Ghore Da Daan, directed by Gurvinder Singh, was the first Punjabi film to go to the Busan International Film Festival.

Sonam Bajwa and Gippy Grewal-starrer Carry On Jatta 3 releases in theatres on June 30.

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