Mitti: breaking new ground in Punjabi film industry

Jatinder,who hails from a small village Khamano,chucked his job in 2002 to “search for what I really wanted to do. So for the next two years,I just roamed about,met up the youth who like me are always facing the wrath of the society for being drug addicts or crazy to go abroad. It is here that Mitti was born. During this time,I attended a workshop by National School of Drama read major authors and finally decided what I wanted to do.”

After establishing his name in directing music videos,Jatinder began “Mitti,” which takes up issues like the plight of a landless labourer,Dalit oppression and above all who a Jatt is. “I am a Jatt by caste but I do not consider myself one for Jatt is a person who tills the land and not the one who lives in cities. This film is about the farmer who is under immense debt and finds suicide the only way out of his miseries. He is also a Jatt. When we talk of land,Jatt character comes to mind but Dalits also form an integral part of this structure and cannot be left out ever. For me,my father,who has just five acres back in the village and tills it with his own hands is the Jatt.”

“This film is not a sermonizing kind because for me my audience is like a group of friends and through this film I am sharing a dialogue with my audience. I really want the youth of Punjab to see this film and while it may sound arty but I can assure you that the film is commercial to the core and will keep one glued to his or her seat,” says Jatinder.

When asked how does he place his film amid an environment where NRI hero ruled the roost,Jatinder says,“The general perception that Manomahn Singh-Harbhajan Mann duo revived Punjabi cinema is not completely true. Films like Sahheede Mohabbat,Mahual Theek Hai and Shaheed Udham Singh ,three films from completely different genres,brought in good Punjabi cinema which was completely missing before them. And so while my hero may not be an NRI but my film will carve a niche for itself.”