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Udta Punjab Movie Review - Alia takes the Limelight!

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The film Udta Punjab released today after weeks of bickering and stress for its makers as the censor board called for multiple cuts - Kulwinder Kaur Kainth had the pleasure to be present at the film premier screening read her review on the movie!

Well as most of us know this film had to fight its way through the High Court just before the general release. Well since they got the green light, the decision was to only cut 1 scene. I personally feel that situating the story of Punjab is very dearing and hat's off to the director and the entire team. However there are people who feel it should not have been told, but we are soon mistaken and forget that this issue is not just in Punjab but it happens in every country.

Udta Punjab (Punjab is flying high) depicts the current situation of Punjab. The actors in the film are from different walks in life but all have one connection- drugs. Diljit Dosanjh who plays the role of Sartaj a police officer, Kareena Kapoor Khan who is a doctor named Preet Sahani , Shahid Kapoor who is a drug addict and a rock star who is characterised as Tommy Singh and followed by the youth of Punjab for his vulgar lyrics, appearance and much more. Alia Bhaat is a Bihari Immigrant, we are not told her name throughout the film.

The language of the film really took me back, in almost every scene there is swearing. However I do think the swearing could be cut out slightly, but then would we see the realistic picture of Punjab? The music well the only song which stood out to me was when they played, Chitta by Jaggi Sidhu as this was relevant to the scene and the overall film. The makeup and clothing was done superbly. It was very convincing and portrayed each character very well.

The message of the film is to stop drugs, make the public aware of what is happening. Conversely they do say it is an individual war against drugs. They tell us how individuals take drugs as pleasure which soon becomes an addiction, damaging and affecting the lives of their families too. The film overall is very interesting and hooking throughout, with slight elements of comedy. I definitely learnt a lot of what is happening. I always heard there is a ‘drug issue’ in Punjab but I never knew what exactly this meant. Udta Punjab for me evidently portrays this. Udta Punjab is clearly not a family film. But, the aim of the film is make people aware of the situation however they do limit the audience due to the certificates of the film (different in every country) with the language/violence.

Overall the film is shocking, heart breaking but educational. I feel as though Shahid Kapoor's character wasn't about a punjabi music artist but more of a stereotypical American pop star. For me Alia took the limelight as I have not seen her character played before. Her talent and hard work could truly been seen. Her struggle to achieve a better way of life deemed impossible and this was emotional to see as well as entertaining, the character made me feel like I had a connection with her. I enjoyed watching Kareena and Dijit's chemistry and they definitely done well on their parts.

Films like Udta Punjab are rare and it is commending that such a big, bold issue which is a taboo to speak about is now out in the public and I hope this film creates awareness about the crisis.

Rating: 7/10

Written by: Kulwinder Kaur Kainth

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