Tarsem Jassar on Mastaney: ‘Screen time does not matter, the film matters’

Actor-producer Tarsem Jassar speaks about his upcoming release and the journey of the highly anticipated period film Mastaney.

A poster of the film Mastaney.

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A historical set in 1739, Tarsem Jassar-starrer Mastaney is a highly anticipated Punjabi-language film that is set to release pan-India on August 25. The story looks at the time when Nadir Shah, the then ruler of Iran, plundered India and captured people to be sold as slaves. On his way back to Iran through Northern Punjab, he encountered Sikhs for the first time. The ruler demanded to know who the Sikhs are and learned about the valiant warriors and their indomitable spirit.

Directed by Sharan Art, who has previously worked with Jassar on Galwakdi (2022) and Rabb Da Radio 2 (2019), the film is being seen as a cinematic marvel due to its sheer scale, stunning sets, and textured visuals. Jassar, who also produced the film via his Vehli Janta Films banner, spoke about the evolution of the project, which took almost five years from its inception to release. “When we were making Sardar Mohammad (2017), Sharan designed the poster of the film and I was explaining it to him in the editing room, we started talking about our common interest in history and that is when he told me his idea for this film. I knew about the incident but I did not know it in as much detail at the time. So in 2017, we had the idea that we have to make the film but we did not know when it would be made,” he said.

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

Mastaney has been made with painstaking detail for authenticity, which is often a challenge for any period film. The setting of Lahore in the 18th century is evoked through production design and costumes. The entire visual effects of the film have been done in Punjab. Jassar elaborated, “Sharan put together a VFX team but Covid created disruptions and the team got dismantled while the work was underway, but Sharan did not lose heart and got a team together again.” This was just one of the many challenges that came their way. “We have worked very hard and done a lot of work for this film and made it with a lot of dedication,” he added.

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The complete title of the film is Mastaney: The Spirit of Martyrs, and the central actors portray the valiance of Sikh warriors with intensity. The character of Zahoor is unlike any other played by Jassar, “It [the role] was quite challenging because I have put in all my learnings of all these years as an actor into this role, and have put in whatever I could, to do it justice. It took a lot to get the character right. When you have to accomplish your dream, you need to put in the hard work and effort for it, so I needed to do it as well. But I wanted to play a character so special that I strive for it and work hard at achieving it.”

In a curious move, the trailer of the film does not include any dialogue by Jassar. “We made another cut of the trailer with my dialogues, but that was not looking so impressive. But with this we have given a message to the industry. The production house is mine but still I do not have a dialogue here. We do not want these small insecurities… we just need to make a good thing. Screen time does not matter, the film matters,” commented Jassar.

Speaking about his discernment as an actor, he said, “I am very selective by nature… I feel that whatever I do, I should give it my 100 percent. The film could be of any genre but the main thing is about content. My question is always, what am I doing in the film? Why has the person chosen me for the film? And I love history and historical films.”

Mastaney also stars Gurpreet Ghuggi and Simi Chahal.

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