Pollywood: Neeru Bajwa set to shatter quite a few glass ceilings

Produced by Santosh Subhash Thite, Sarla Rani, Lienniaz Ent, Neeru Bajwa Entertainment and U&I films, Buhe Bariyan has been directed by Uday Pratap Singh and penned by Jagdeep Warring. “There are all ma’ams here,” laughs Neeru, as she chats along with the cast of the film.

“This is a different film, a fresh story, where all protagonists are women. I believe it’s the first time there is not a single man on the stage here with us. We are all leading here and Nirmal Rishi ma’am is our leader,” adds Neeru whose mantra has always been ‘be the change’. With Buhe Bariyan, she aims to give wings to feminist revolution, to question age-old norms and straightjacketed lives of women, living by rules, directions and orders.

“I have always been an individual with a mind of my own, and done things my way. This is a film that is so close to my heart, it’s a film where I have expressed a lifetime of emotions, where we have opened all the closed ‘buhe bariyan’, it’s as original as it is. It’s my life’s work,” says Nirmal Rishi. Gurpreet Bhangu agrees.

“You have to open your own buhe bariyan. Trust me, I have nothing against men, they are a part of us, and we have to survive hand in hand. Men are needed. But never at the cost of your own self respect and self esteem, it’s your own fight for independence and individualism and this film has made me dance from the inside – this is for the mothers, grandmothers, women who’ve ‘opened their own buhe bariyan’,” says Gurpreet.

Buhe Bariyan, to its starcast, is a symbol, a metaphor, a door to empowerment. It’s also a film where Neeru says everyone is in the lead, and each has delivered their best.

“There are so many stereotypes… heroines are hardly given any importance or powerful roles. It’s all sing and song and pretty suits. But I believe I have an opinion and I have a voice, and I would like to use it and make the world listen,” says Neeru, who has been fiercely independent and hands on with her productions and social media, maintaining work-life balance with three kids and flying to and fro Canada and India for shoots.

Actor and producer, Bajwa has been on a roll this year. Not only have her Punjabi films (produced under Neeru Bajwa Entertainment Private Limited) Kali Jotta and Chal Jindiye turned out to be massive hits, she has opened her music production company, Neeru Bajwa Music and has starred in her first Hollywood horror flick, It Lives Inside. She will now be seen in Tehran with John Abraham, and another Punjabi film with Satinder Sartaj. In the meantime, catch Buhe Bariyan this September 15.