Comic Timing

In the comedy circus of Punjabi cinema,actor Binnu Dhillon is fast emerging as a central character

Acamedics were never really his strong point. So,when young Binnu Dhillon failed to secure admission to any of his preferred courses at college level,he enrolled in the one that,according to him,was the easiest to get into at that time. The theatre and television department of Punjabi University,Patiala,welcomed Dhillon,who belongs to a small village called Dhuri near Sangrur. Those were the days when Dhillon and his friends would look at Shah Rukh Khans posters and wonder if they would also make it big ever.

More than a decade later,post some 25 odd Punjabi and Hindi serials,Dhillon is the new poster boy for comedy in Punjabi cinema. From Singh v/s Kaur,Lucku Di Unlucky Story,Carry on Jatta to Best of Luck,Jatts in Golmaal,and the recent Naughty Jatts,Dhillon has emerged as one of the most bankable comic characters in the Punjabi film industry. Such is his impact that the Naughty Jatts credit had his name roll first (after reigning queen Neeru Bajwa),and buzz is that hes now paid at par with most of the lead actors catapulting him to the Rs 50 lakh-plus category per film.

Its surreal. Here I was,a bhangra champion who had performed at an Indian festival in the UK and Germany,a television theatre actor who barely made Rs 1,000 a day working like a donkey all year round, says Dhillon,during an interaction at JW Marriott.

Dhillon talks about his simple background,his living within limited resources when he started off in the industry,and his 10 years of struggle. After working for a whole year without a break,I made Rs 80,000,and took a loan of 50,000 from my parents. I bought a car,and as luck would have it,it got stolen, he says. The day he made Rs 2,500 or Rs 3,000,Dhillon says he would celebrate. I am a believer,I left it to God, he adds.

While writer-director Gurbir Singh Grewal gave him a break in TV series Parchhawain in 1998,it was with late comedian Vivek Shauqs Nalaik and a film on Bhagat Singh,titled Shaheed-e-Azam,that Dhillon made his way into Punjabi cinema in 2002. Odd roles in films such as Dev D,Chhevan Dariya,Ekam and Luv U Bobby came and went,till filmmaker Manmohan Singh noticed Dhillons comic timing in the 2007 film Mitti Waajan Mardi. Ive mostly played a villain in Punjabi films,but with Mitti Waajan Mardi,I got to essay a comical villain,which the audience loved. says Dhillon.

That was the turning point. He then bagged roles in films such as Jihne Mera Dil Lutiya,Munde UK De,Tu Mera 22,Main Tera 22 and Raula Pai Gaya.

Basking in the glory of his success,Dhillon realises that it is short-lived,as audiences would want a change sooner or later,and he too would need to break this typecast. I am not a comedian,I am an actor,and what makes an actor brilliant is his versatility, says Dhillon.

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With comedy being the epicentre of Punjabi films today,Dhillon credits this to fellow comedians Jaswinder Bhalla,Gurpreet Ghuggi,Karamjeet Anmol and BN Sharma. For him,they are institutions in themselves,and he has much to learn from them,and not view them as competitors. If one has to look outwards,I find Paresh Rawal as the ultimate actor, says Dhillon.

When not doing films,Dhillon is busy with theatre,and has travelled abroad with Naughty Baba in Town,a play written and directed by him. Fitness conscious,he indulges in a game of volleyball at the university campus in Patiala,or spend time with his wife,Gurjinder,and daughters Delnaaz (12) and Mannat (6).

Mention Bollywood,and he says no. I am happy doing cinema in my language, says the actor who will soon be seen in Jatt Airways and Viyah 70km.

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Tags:
comedy
Punjab