He has made you laugh with his funny antics, characteristic hand gestures and punchy one-liners in Punjabi movies like Carry On Jatta and Vadhayiyan Ji Vadhayian. On the other hand, he has also made you cry in Bailaras, Angrej and Bambukaat with his emotionally-rich performances. Versatile as he is, he has worked in big Hindi movies like Dev. D and Shaeed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh too at the start of his career. But he chose to veer back to doing cinema in his mother tongue, Punjabi. Despite that, he feels he isn’t serving its cause. In his much-awaited movie, Kala Shah Kala, he’s all set to make you ponder over a social issue while he tickles your funny bone again as the movie releases this Valentine’s Day.
Binnu Dhillon is an actor of many talents. Of late, he has turned producer too, with his aptly named production house, Naughty Men Productions, which has produced Kala Shah Kala. The movie casts Mr Dhillon in the lead role opposite Sargun Mehta. Jordan Sandhu also plays an important character in the story.
In an interview with SBS Punjabi, Mr Dhillon says he isn’t serving Punjabi. “Nobody is capable enough to serve Punjabi. Rather, it is serving us. Punjabi is the reason we have work, and that we could desire in life. Forget me, nobody has the capability to serve his/her mother tongue because its expanse is beyond us,” says Mr Dhillon, voicing a profound feeling and giving you food for thought.
Binnu Dhillon with Sargun Mehta in a poster of 'Kala Shah Kala'. Source: Facebook/Binnu Dhillon
A postgraduate in theatre and TV from Punjabi University, Patiala, Mr Dhillon often makes the occasional profound remark but has found his calling in comedy. Kala Shah Kala, his next romantic comedy, Mr Dhillon says, will achieve two ends: make you laugh and think. Ideally, three: it may make you question social paradigms too. “It is a funny take about a young man who is of dark complexion and is seeking a bride as the social pressure to get married mounts on him and his family. The story will force you to think and question why people with dark skin are made to feel inferior even if they are great human beings. We are making a very serious point, but in a comic way. It’s a sweet story,” says Mr Dhillon, who says this Valentine’s Day might be the best for those who watch Kala Shah Kala on the day of its release.
Click on the player at the top of this page to listen to this interview in Punjabi.
