Sargun Mehta is returning to the big screen with her latest Punjabi film, Saunkan Saunkne 2. The comedy, which sees her reunite with Ammy Virk and Nimrat Khaira, is expected to break box office records, just like the first part. Ahead of the film's release, the actor speaks with HT about the expectations, experience, and more. (Also read: People think they can take me for a ride: Sargun on working in a male-dominated industry)
On Saunkan Saunkne 2
In Saunkan Saunkne 2, both Sargun and Nimrat wear a lot of padding to show how their characters have gained weight. Shooting with the makeup and padding in peak summers was no easy task. Nimrat recalls, "We enjoyed the first two days a lot with the new getup and all the padding. It felt very new, very nice. But, as the shoot went on, it became challenging."
But for Sargun, the fun of creating something new outweighed the challenges. She explains, “When you are on a shoot, nothing else matters. And when it is such a comedy, even the actors enjoy while performing. The audience has fun, but the actor does too. There is no dead scene in the film. So, since so much is happening, you don't think of anything else.”
How Punjabi films can go pan-India
Over the last few years, with the arrival of streaming platforms, Punjabi films have travelled beyond their core audiences. Sargun sees this as just the beginning to taking Punjabi cinema nationally. "Even if we can reach out to 5 more people to invest time in us, that is a win. People are watching everything, from Korean and Turkish to English. Now, Punjabi is very close to Hindi as a language. It's not very difficult to understand," she says.
{{/usCountry}}Over the last few years, with the arrival of streaming platforms, Punjabi films have travelled beyond their core audiences. Sargun sees this as just the beginning to taking Punjabi cinema nationally. "Even if we can reach out to 5 more people to invest time in us, that is a win. People are watching everything, from Korean and Turkish to English. Now, Punjabi is very close to Hindi as a language. It's not very difficult to understand," she says.
{{/usCountry}}Giving an example of her husband, actor Ravi Dubey, she says, "Ravi is not a Punjabi, but he understands my film. So, I know that we don't have to create a new world for the audience. So, I feel the Hindi audience would love to watch these films, such as Saunkan Saunkane 2. And I think nobody does comedy better than the Punjabis. They have mastered the art of it. Everybody in a film - even the person doing a single scene - is so good with their comic timing. Like action is South's language of films, comedy is Punjab's."
Saunkan Saunkne 2 is scheduled to be released in theatres on May 30.
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