Five years after Carry On Jatta 2 (2018), Carry On Jatta 3 hit the big screen this Thursday (June 29), which sees Gippy Grewal and Sonam Bajwa revisiting their characters. The comic caper set new records for the Punjabi film industry as it clocked more Rs 10 crore at the worldwide box office on its first day, thus emerging as the biggest day-one grosser. The trailer of the film gave a glimpse into a series of comically chaotic situations that a Punjabi family settled in London gets embroiled in.
Speaking about the film, Sonam, in an exclusive chat with News18 a while back, said that the USP of the film ‘is the madness, laughter and confusion in a Punjabi household where the father is confused about who his son is dating’.
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The film might have Sonam playing a glamorous young girl who essays the hero’s love interest but going forward, she wants to be a part of a certain number of women-led narratives apart from the usual commercial films. “I shall keep pushing myself and ever year, I intend to do one or two films that are female-oriented. After Guddiyan Patole (2019), I get so many scripts every year which are female-centric. Times have changed. I hope the situation keeps getting better and better,” she said.
The Punjabi film industry has gained popularity through its male superstars like Gippy, Diljit Dosanjh and Ammy Virk, who enjoy a massive fandom even globally. But Sonam believes even amid their shadows, women actors have the potential and opportunity to be a part of some important stories and make a statement.
“If a film is made well, whether it’s female-centric or not, it will work. It’s just that a female-centric film might not have a budget like a film that has a male superstar. In both Ardab Mutiyaran (2019) and Guddiyan Patole, we had heroes who were making their debuts, and both films did well. We do have space. We just need to trust ourselves, make our way and keep doing such films. Yes, a couple of them might not work but the idea is to constantly work towards making good films. It’s challenging but it gives me a lot of hope that my films have worked,” elaborated Sonam.
The Honsla Rakh (2021) actress, however, pointed out that for a female-led film to do well, it’s important that it gets a release as big as any other Punjabi film starring a male superstar. “Recently, a film came out called Kali Jotta and that performed outstandingly well, both critically and commercially. I truly believe in supporting these kinds of films. People really appreciated it. There’s a scope for actors like us and female-oriented scripts to do well too but they need to be well-made and well-placed. If a film is made well with a lot of hard work and then released properly, I don’t think that the audience would let them go without appreciating them,” she explained.
For Sonam, the idea is to not be deterred by failure but to keep pushing the envelope by challenging the norm and setting new precedents. Speaking about it, she asserted, “Sometimes, we fall short in making a film nicely and then we wonder why the audience didn’t like it. But I don’t remember any film that was good but didn’t work. Sometimes, a film may not work if the audience has already seen something similar in the past. We want to make the best films and we’re all learning and growing along the way.”
