Gurpreet Ghuggi on Mastaney: ‘I was hungry for a film like this’

Qalandar, a role originally meant to be played by Jassar, was seen as being more suitable for Gurpreet Ghuggi, who appears in the trailer in a completely different look. Speaking about the character, Ghuggi said, “The character of Qalandar is a very balanced and layered character. Sometimes people may feel that he is a coward, or egotistic, or even manipulative but he does not react because he knows himself. Given this, it was difficult to perform this character as every word had to be in place. During the shoot, I would keep thinking about Qalandar, wondering about his lines, why he was saying certain things and how he was reacting. I would even wake up the director early in the morning just to discuss the lines and we would go over the character’s motivations and thoughts.”

Highlighting the rarity of portraying a nuanced character like this and that too in a period film mounted on a massive scale, Ghuggi said, “As an artiste, I was hungry for a film like this. So when this film came to me, my reaction was that of a person thirsting for water who had been offered lemonade! I feel that this film has completed me.”

Beginning his innings as an actor with theatre performances, Gurpreet Ghuggi started his journey in Punjabi cinema in 2002 and has seen the industry grow from strength to strength. Making his debut with Manmohan Singh’s Jee Aayan Nu (2002), he has been a part of several milestone films like Carry On Jatta (2012), Ardaas (2016), Ardaas Karaan (2019), and the recent hit Carry On Jatta 3 (2023). Mastaney, however, stands out both in terms of its story, scope and visual effects that lend authenticity to the period.

“I made my debut with Maan ji (Manmohan Singh). At that time, family dramas did very well. Before that, it was only the action genre that was popular…. The family dramas gave us recognition. There was another transformation with Carry on Jatta (2012) when the comedy genre came in. Then came motivational cinema like Ardaas (2016), periodic cinema with Angrej (2015) and Bambukat (2016), Rabb Da Radio (2017). We needed historic or periodic cinema and the science fiction genre remains to be explored but with this film (Mastaney), our cinema has made such a jump and we have got worldwide recognition because audiences who do not even understand Punjabi, are talking about this film,” he said.

Although the much-loved actor has played roles of various hues, there are still a few that remain on his wish list, “I have been wanting to play an Army-based character for a long time and I feel that a film on Kala Paani [cellular jail] in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands should be made. The people who were imprisoned there, the lives and stories of the people who could never come back. There should be a film on it and I want to be in it,” shared the actor.