Romancing over Golgappas

Rangeelay,which releases on May 17,comes after Sheirgill’s political drama Dharti. “Dharti was an emotionally and physically draining experience,and I now wanted to make a complete entertainer,where the audience would whistle at every dialogue,dance at every song and applaud at every scene,’’ says Sheirgill,as the film’s director Navaniat Singh,writer Dheeraj Rattan and singer Jashan joined in at a coffee shop at Sector 36,Chandigarh.

“I am here only because of Jimmy,” says Dhupia. Her second film with the actor (Hindi film Delhi Heights was the first),the duo seems confident about their chemistry. Also,after seeing the promo of Dharti at PTC Awards two years ago,Dhupia,who had performed at the function,told Sheirgill to keep her in mind for his next project.

“It’s a growing industry,and I am a Punjaban. My mother is a sardarni,I have Punjabi songs on my iPod and I have watched my share of Punjabi films,which are great stressbusters,’’ says Dhupia. It’s not that Rangeelay was the first Punjabi script to come her way. “There were plenty but from people who had little or no sense of cinema or story. Rangeelay had me convinced in first 10 minutes of the narration,’’ she adds.

The posters and first look of the film,showing aloo-chaat and golgappas and a bratty looking Sheirgill chasing Dhupia,have stirred quite a buzz. “He looks like Justin Beiber with that hairstyle,” says Dhupia,pointing at Sheirgill’s “70s clean-shaven retro look”. It’s also for the first time that designer Neeta Lulla has handled costumes for a Punjabi film. True to its title,there is a splash of colour and attitude in the film. “It’s a rooted love story that will appeal to all age-groups,” says the director. “It’s love over golgappas and chaat,” says Sheirgill. Meanwhile,Dhupia swears she’ll not have golgappas for some time now. “I had about a 100 for one scene,” she says.

A self-confessed romantic,Dhupia says another reason she signed on Rangeelay was because it offered her something Hindi cinema has not done so far — the chance to romance. “I’ve done satire,thriller,action and serious but never a romance,and one has grown up on romantic novels and movies,so Rangeelay is special,” says the actor. Depending on the success of the film,she says she will come back with another as an actor and producer. Although she is still working hard on the language,she seems to have grasped the heart and mind of a Punjabi man. “Punjabi men like a girl who can smile back at them,speak in Punjabi with them and dance on a Punjabi song,” she says.