He’s one of the leaders of the pack of comedians in Punjabi cinema that sends you into peals of laughter with each performance. It is difficult to pick even a handful of Punjabi movies that have done well without him. He has tickled your funny bone as Shampy in Jatt and Juliet, as Ranjha in a hit TV comedy series with another leading light of Punjabi comedy, actor-turned-politician Bhagwant Mann. And of course, as Junior Bhullar in the runaway hit comedy, Carry On Jatta. No prizes for guessing: the man in question is ace Punjabi actor Rana Ranbir.
Despite becoming a brand in Punjabi comedy, Ranbir has debuted as a director with his latest Punjabi movie, Asees recently.
The trailer of this movie leaves you dumbfounded because Ranbir is perceived as someone whose work will only make you laugh. The movie’s story, setting and his performance are diametrically opposite to anything comic.
A still from Asees. Source: Facebook/Rana Ranbir
It is pretty hard to believe that he can even make you cry with this story which revolves around a mother-son relationship highly charged with emotion. “I have done several comedy roles and have become known for them but inside, I’m a theatre artist, thinker, reader and writer. I go crazy without books and have also written three books in addition to nearly 10 movies so far which includes a comedy like Munde UK De and Ardaas, which is based on Punjab’s social-issues. After writing dialogues and stories for movies, I longed to direct a movie. So with Asees, I was able to realise this dream,” Ranbir told SBS Punjabi in a wide-ranging interview from his Canada home over the phone as he is now a Canadian resident. He talks to our listeners in his most famous character, Shampy’s style and also exposes his pleasantly-surprising intellectual side.
