Keeping it Real

In town to talk about the film,Panag and Cheema are still getting used to the new title. The original title borrowed its name from Sarsa,a tributary of river Satluj famous for the Battle of Sarsa when Guru Gobind Singh faced betrayal and loss of his family and priceless Sikh documents and texts. “Sikander is the story of three people and three ideologies as represented by them. While Grewal’s character is all black,Cheema stays grey and I,as Beant,am all white,” says Panag. Beant,she adds,is an idealist and has clarity about everything. “This is the difficult thing,for life is not black-and-white. There is so much duality in normal life and one has to be removed,harsh and extreme to be either black or white. I am an idealist,but I am a realist too,” she says.

Panag and Cheema both urge the youth to watch the film. Mauhar’s depiction of the youth of Punjab is extremely valid for he is an idealist too,mentions Panag. “He wrote the character for me and waited for a year before I got free. He wanted a Punjaban who rides an Enfield,and I couldn’t refuse,” says Panag. For the actor,language is just a medium and it’s the script of the film that truly works for her.

Moving away from the singer-hero formula and cutting out the romantic comedy angle,it’s the story that the audiences will relate to. “Sikander is about all that happens at the university level — the leaders,the popularity,the herd mentality,the power struggle,the political pressures,manipulations and exploitation and the survival of the fittest,” says Cheema. For him,it’s a film that is closest to his life. “I’ve lived this character,for I come from this world. I was a student president in 2003 at Patiala University and it was a volatile phase,with fights and arguments. Although there are no student elections at these places,the heads are elected on the basis of zor and popularity. Sikander captures all this,” adds Cheema. His character,called Sikander,is the lead,a boy who becomes a leader but succumbs to the pressure and gets swallowed by the system. Cheema,who is known for portraying negative shades in films such as Mitti and Yaar Anmulle,is trying to give a positive twist to his image through Sikander. “I was a boxer,and a good sportsperson,but acting took over. Also,there was no guidance or coaching in sports,which is why I want to get into social work and change things in my village,Sunam,” says Cheema,who plans to construct an open-air theatre in his village in Sangrur district of Punjab.