Mardistan (Macholand): Reflections on Indian Manhood is a Punjabi documentary by Harjant Gill. It was produced by Public Service Broadcasting Trust. [1]
The documentary revolves around four Punjabi men from different backgrounds and generations. Amandeep Sandhu is a writer who tries to understand the physical and sexual abuse he witnessed while he wasstudying in an elite military academy. Gurpreet Singh is a Sikh father who has twin daughters and is resisting the pressure to produce a son. Tarun is young college student who wants to have a girlfriend to lose his virginity. Dhananjay a working-class gay activist who tells the truth to his wife after twenty years of marriage. [1] [2]
Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world with approximately 113 million native speakers.
Heer Ranjha is one of the four popular tragic romances of the Punjab. The other three are Mirza Sahiban, Sohni Mahiwal and Sassi Punnun. There are several poetic narrations of the story; the most famous being Heer by Waris Shah written in 1766. It tells the story of the love between Heer Sial and Dheedo Ranjha.
Jimmy Sheirgill, also credited as Jimmy Shergill, is an Indian actor and producer who primarily works in Hindi and Punjabi films. Sheirgill is a recipient of several accolades including one Producers Guild Film Award and one PTC Punjabi Film Award with one Filmfare Award nomination.
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Satish Gujral was an Indian painter, sculptor, muralist and writer of the post-independent era. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, in 1999. His elder brother, Inder Kumar Gujral, was the Prime Minister of India between 1997 and 1998.
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Harjant Gill is an Indian documentary filmmaker and teaches visual anthropology at Towson University. His films explore topics related to gender, sexuality, religion and belonging in India and among Indians in diaspora.
Paidi Jairaj was an Indian actor, director and producer known for his works majorly in Hindi; few Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu language films, and Telugu theatre. During the talkie period, from 1931 onwards, he started with Shikari in Urdu and English languages. Subsequently, he became one of the leading actors for about two decades, along with V. Shantaram, Ashok Kumar, Prithviraj Kapoor, Motilal etc. He starred in about 170 feature films in a variety of roles. He directed a few films such as Mohar, Mala (1943), Pratima, Rajghar and Saagar (1951), which he produced. In 1980, he was awarded with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award for films in India, for his contributions to Indian cinema.
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Manoj Punj was an Indian Punjabi film director. He directed the hits in Punjabi Cinema. After graduating with a degree in arts, and experiencing theater in Chandigarh, he assisted Prof. P. S. Nirola who made corporate and documentary films. He then shifted to Mumbai where he began his career as an assistant in various television and film projects. Few years later he started directing various kinds of TV programmes independently. This was followed by a series of hit Punjabi films. Manoj Punj died on 22 October 2006 due to a cardiac arrest in Mumbai, Maharashtra state of India at a young age of 36.
Tejinder Singh "Babbu" Maan is an Indian singer-songwriter, music director, actor and film producer. Most of his artistic work focuses on Punjabi music and films. He is recognised as being among the biggest artists in Punjabi music.
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Gurcharan Virk was a Punjabi writer, director, lyricist and producer. He started his career in 1983 by recording a song. Some of the movies on which he worked as associate director include, Marhi Da Deeva and Udeekan Saun Diyan. He directed the television films of Fauji Di Family, Bapu Di Pension, Police Naaka, Attro Diyan Chugliyan, Maawan De Dil, Sardaari and Bapu Da Viah. He directed serials, commercials, video albums, documentaries and films.
Kalathil Kuzhiyil Devadasan Dilin Nair, better known by his stage name Raftaar, is an Indian rapper, lyricist, dancer, actor, TV personality and music composer associated with Hindi, Punjabi and Haryanvi music.
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