lemon tree passage is a 2014 australian horror/thriller film that was directed by david james campbell and is his feature film directorial debut .

the film received an australian release and stars andrew ryan , tim phillipps , pippa black , jessica tovey , and tim pocock as a group of backpackers that find themselves in the midst of strange occurrences .

the movie 's premise is based upon an urban legend that claims that if a motorist speeds along lemon tree passage road in lemon tree passage , new south wales , they will see a ghost .

lemon tree passage ( film )

here ' s a look at some film meetups happening near lemon tree passage .
films like lemon tree passage signal the death of the good horror film . so far 2015 has been a mixed bag and lemon tree passage along with previously reviewed titles e . g .
lemon tree passage – aka death passage – is a 2014 australian horror film directed by david campbell from a screenplay co - written with erica brien .
writer - director david campbell is in post - production on the australian supernatural thriller lemon tree passage .
i completely feel indifference towards lemon tree passage , a decent enough if not over done idea that’s poorly executed .
lemon tree passage premieres at the nelson bay cinema , october 31st 2014 , at 7 . 30pm and 9 . 30pm .
the girls never mentioned it until about 15 years later when someone brought up the legend of the lemon tree passage light .
indeed this is the plot of the movie lemon tree passage , filmed last year and starring jessica tovey and pippa black .
whether the tale is true or not , it has inspired the plot for a new film , lemon tree passage , which is making its australian premier in nelson bay .
a true believer , mr byfield has investigated lemon tree passage and doesn ' t believe it ' s an act of the paranormal .
as the legend goes , the ' ghost ' of lemon tree passage in port stephens has haunted many a traveller over the years .
news that the legend of the lemon tree passage
ghost
has inspired a movie brought back chilling memories for charlestown resident tanya locking .
odin’s eye entertainment has acquired worldwide sales rights to lemon tree passage , an australian supernatural thriller directed and co - written by david campbell .
it was after midnight when joe finn saw what looked like the light from a harley davidson motorcycle approaching in the distance along lemon tree passage road .
like all urban legends the lemon tree passage ghost has a contested history , but the one constant is the death of a motorcyclist on the strip .
lemon tree passage might have been scarier if the actors - - outside jessica tovey , who was great - - would have bought in a little bit more .
after speeding down lemon tree passage , a remote road surrounded by dense woods , their jubilation turns to terror as one by one each passenger begins disappearing in violent ways .
the special effects in lemon tree passage are well - handled , making the events seem not only believable , but downright scary . along with a solid plot based on legend , the film is also well - acted by a young cast who portray a real emotional intensity in the film , which builds the suspense in each scene right up to the surprising end . to the delight of viewers , there are plenty of twists and turns as well as plenty of blood and gore for horror fans . lemon tree passage is another shining example of the excellent film production that australia has developed , particularly in the horror genre . hopefully the film will receive an american release very soon . crypticrock gives lemon tree passage 4 out of 5 .
after speeding down lemon tree passage , a remote road surrounded by dense woods , their jubilation turns to terror as one by one each passenger begins to disappear in a violent fashion .
in the dead of night , when only a few cars rumble along the long , eerie stretch of bitumen - lemon tree passage rd - a mysterious light is said to follow you .
lemon tree passage is an australian set “ghost story” surrounding two locals oscar ( andrew ryan ) and geordie ( tim phillips ) who introduce three american tourists maya ( jessica tovey ) , amelia ( pippa black ) and toby ( tim pocock ) to the legend of lemon tree passage ; an infamous road that saw the tragic death of a motorcyclist who supposedly still haunts the area .
mr finn didn ' t realise at the time , but he ' d witnessed the legend of the lemon tree passage ghost , an urban myth that has captured imaginations in port stephens for years , and is now the inspiration behind a feature film .
lemon tree passage road is long and straight - there ' s a stretch of about four kilometres that runs dead straight and flat - from rookes road in the west to oyster cove road in the east .
a couple of australians introduce three american backpackers to the local legend of lemon tree passage where a ghost of a motorcyclist warns young drivers to slow down . after seeing the . . . see full summary »
like the legendary first novel ernest hemingway allegedly tore up and tossed into the sea and the first film that quentin tarantino claims he was advised never to show anyone , lemon tree passage might be a vital steppingstone for its debuting director . but an unheralded masterpiece this is not . which maybe why this australian film hasn’t secured a local release yet .
someone from australia will probably have to confirm this for me , but apparently there ' s a ghost story involving lemon tree passage road , one where , if a group of teenagers drive really fast down the road , a ghost will appear in the form of a bright light , because a motorcyclist was killed by a bunch of teenagers years earlier . whether this is a real ghost story or simply made up for the film , it works well enough as a hook for lemon tree passage .
the south australian - shot film inspired by an urban legend had its first screening on saturday at the european film market in berlin .
the main problem with lemon tree passage is its audio . dialogue was inaudible then in contrast any soundtrack music blasted out . not an enjoyable experience watching a movie where you’re constantly having to turn the sound up and down .
the plot for the horror film centres on a couple of young australian men who introduce the legend of the lemon tree passage ghost to a group of american backpackers . after going in search of the spirit , supernatural events begin to happen to the group , leaving them at the centre of drama .
the plot to this movie is based on a real supernatural occurrence that is often reported on ' lemon tree pasage ' in new south wales , australia .
lemon tree passage , filmed last year and starring jessica tovey ( wonderland ) and pippa black ( law and order : special victims unit ) , follows three american backpackers who learn about the ghost of a motorcyclist that stalks young motorists .
australian film lemon tree passage premiered at south korea’s primary genre festival pifan ( pucheon international fantastic film festival ) . a festival that highlights some of the most warped films from around the world , pifan often prizes the shock of the new over narrative lucidity . but it’s not a good sign when during the q & a , the director starts to explain everything that didn’t make sense in his film… and it still doesn’t makes sense . but lemon tree passage does have verve , a strong performance by jessica tovey , and a handful of startling sequences ( one involving a rear - view mirror stands out ) . unfortunately , those compelling incidents fail to thread together in any sense that satisfies dramatically .
campbell and erica brien wrote the screenplay after he saw a segment on today tonight in 2010 dealing with teenagers who were caught speeding in lemon tree passage road in port stephens , nsw , and told the cops they saw a ghostly light .
in recent times , nicholas has top billing in the australian feature film ‘ lemon tree passage ’ , where he stars opposite jess tovey ( ‘ wonderland ’ ) , tim pocock ( ‘ camp ! ’ ) and andy ryan ( ‘ inxs : never tear us apart ’ ) . ‘ lemon tree passage ‘ has secured top tier distributor universal studios and had its premiere at uk’s frightfest . it is expected to have a blu - ray release in 2016 . nicholas has also recently appeared on the hit soap program ‘ neighbours ‘ as regular guest ‘forrest jones’ & working dog’s ‘ utopia ‘ .
ozon ' s provocative film can do much to improve attitudes towards lgbti people .
mr campbell said there ' s already been a lot of interest in the film .
david campbell co - wrote the film with erica brien , and is also the director .
odin’s eye entertainment’s michael favelle says he has not yet shown the film to australian distributors .
rating : 4 / 10 – a good idea that’s left by the wayside in favour of a confused , improbable plot , lemon tree passage is a disappointing entry in the urban legend horror sub - genre ; absurd and unnecessarily confusing , it struggles to make sense throughout and has too many wtf ? moments for comfort .
i also met tom wadlow . tom has directed his first feature film wasteland . i had met him briefly last year when he was showing a trailer for the film and trying to raise some cash . the film is finished , and he is back this year trying to sell it . i liked tom and his friends , and i ' m looking forward to seeing the film once back in the uk .
the film has been shown at south korea ' s pifan festival but is looking for an australian distributor .
“despite the lack of a coherent plot , and undeveloped dialogue , lemon tree passage has enough effective frights to pass the time as a nuts and bolts horror , which could have done with a few more bolts just to tighten up the script . it’s a film that wants to send shivers down your spine ( and certainly the promotional artwork does that in spades ) , but your brain is too preoccupied trying to figure out what’s going on…” andy caley , screen relish
there’s nothing more disheartening than being presented with a generic , “ghost” story that heavily overcompensates with convoluted ideas due its lack of story . lemon tree passage is rather messy , the plot is incoherent and it’s distracting while being difficult to follow . rather than a plot , it feels like a trip of segments that don’t quite fit together to create a slick narrative .
whenever a film claims to be ‘based on a true story’ or ‘inspired by real events’ ( as opposed to unreal events ? ) , that essentially means nothing in the film is either of the above . when a horror film says ‘based on a true story’ or ‘inspired by real events’ , what it really translates to is ‘based on an urban legend’ , i . e . narnia has a better chance of proving its validity than the urban legend does . lemon tree passage opens with a youtube video of a recording of a bright light , said to be the ghost of a dead motorcyclist , who was killed in 2007 in an accident at film’s title . but , of course , as is the nature of these unexplained mysteries , the story went viral and attracted millions of embellished and nonsensical theories , to the point that we now have a film about the legend in question . related merchandise , i’m sure , will be available soon .
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despite the lack of a coherent plot , and undeveloped dialogue , lemon tree passage has enough effective frights to pass the time as a nuts and bolts horror , which could have done with a few more bolts just to tighten up the script . it’s a film that wants to send shivers down your spine ( and certainly the promotional artwork does that in spades ) , but your brain is too preoccupied trying to figure out what’s going on , that it ultimately proves to be a somewhat dissatisfying experience .
lemon tree passage is a turd of film . an absolute turd . 2014 was a glorious year for australian cinema , and yet it managed to produce this - arguably the worst i ' ve seen . ever . i ' m not even being hyperbolic , i haven ' t seen a worse aussie film than this . not even you & your stupid mate is as bad as this , because at least that has angus sampson in it . this is an incredible weak attempt at ghost horror , looking like it was made by a bunch of 10 year olds playing make - believe with a camera they got from santa . i can ' t even be bothered typing words about why it is bad , because everything about this film is inept .
taking as its basic premise the real - life urban legend of the ghost of lemon tree passage road in new south wales , campbell’s debut feature soon abandons its spooky set up in favour of a more convoluted and awkwardly presented storyline involving a murdered teenager , possession , revenge from beyond the grave , a lot of aimless wandering in the woods , tepid scares , and ridiculous plot developments . the reason for all this is sound enough , but in the hands of campbell and co - screenwriter erica brien , is extrapolated into a complicated mess that cries out for some well - judged simplicity . lemon tree passage is yet another movie where strange things happen either out of context , or because the script can’t come up with anything else to help move the plot forward more effectively .
walter huston once said , “i ain’t paid to make good lines sound good . i’m paid to make bad lines sound good . ” regardless of the flaws of the script and the flummoxed look of her co - stars , tovey is always believable as she carries lemon tree passage past most of its more ridiculous moments . directorially , campbell pulls his weight . the film has a stylish look and competently portrays the action . but for his next venture campbell and co - writer erica brien ( who also acted as the film’s production designer ) need to figure out how to prevent their story from pulling in too many directions at once .
the film stars a mostly australian cast , with jessica tovey , pippa black , andrew ryan and tim phillips in leading roles .
coming soon : # myafrica will premiere at tribeca film festival this april 18 - 29 . proud to partner with . . . urltoken
we ' re very proud to be backing this ambitious dystopian short film project - produced by our tenant , rental . . . urltoken
with many believing the urban legend could be connected to the death of a real person , mr campbell says the film could prove controversial .
a couple of australians introduce three american backpackers to the local legend of lemon tree passage where a ghost of a motorcyclist warns young drivers to slow down . after seeing the ghost first hand they uncover a malevolent force that posses the area and threatens to wreak havoc on the final days of their vacation . isolated and ten thousand miles from home , the tourists find themselves caught in the clutches of an evil force much more heinous than the local myth believed .
it ' s frightfest ' s first trip to the european film market at the berlinale and proved to be a great success . read all all about the goings on as alan jones and paul mcevoy brave the winter weather at one of the top five film festivals in the world .
we rounded the day off by attending the toronto film festival party where we caught up with colin midnight madness geddes and his wife , kat .
lemon tree passage was working for me , albeit on a second screening . don ' t expect anything too revolutionary , and the plot is a bit of a jumble , but otherwise pretty decent ghostly outing . this movie comes as recommended to those who dig flicks like lost things or the others , dive on in kids there ain ' t no sharks in these waters . will definitely be catching whatever director campbell rocks out next , fingers crossed he sticks to the dark genre .
the idea for the film came in 2010 when youtube clips popped up showing terrified teenagers screaming as a single circular light follows them through the night .
american backpackers amelia ( black ) , maya ( tovey ) , and her brother toby ( pocock ) meet aussie mates oscar ( ryan ) and geordie ( phillipps ) , and after spending an evening with them , are invited back to oscar’s house , where he lives with his brother , sam ( gunn ) . geordie has told them the story of lemon tree passage , a stretch of road nearby where the tale goes , if you drive fast enough you’ll see the ghost of a man who was killed there several years before . deciding that it’ll be a good idea to see if the story is true , all five travel out to lemon tree passage and put the legend to the test . on their first try they see a bright light that appears out of nowhere and follows them along the road before disappearing . when they try it again , but with geordie left at the roadside at the spot where they first saw the light , things take a strange turn .
geordie disappears , and the rest of the group begin to experience strange phenomena happening around their car . maya begins to have strange visions of a young girl called brianna ( forde ) who may or may have not been killed in the woods that surround them . supernatural events continue to occur , and sam is drawn to the area as well , leading to a revelation and a confrontation that proves to have nothing to do with the ghost of lemon tree passage , but which is far more dangerous .
when a group of young american backpackers learn of a ghost , which is said to appear in the rearview mirror of a speeding car , they set out to experience it with the help of some locals . after speeding down lemon tree passage , a remote road surrounded by dense woods , their jubilation turns to terror as one by one each passenger begins to violently disappear . isolated and ten thousand miles from home , the tourists find themselves caught in the clutches of a malevolent force much more heinous than the local myth would have them believe .
when a group of young backpackers learn of a ghost said to appear in the rear - view mirror of a speeding car they set out to recreate it with the help of some locals . after speeding down lemon tree passage , a remote road surrounded by dense woods , their jubilation turns to terror as one by one each passenger begins to disappear in a violent fashion . isolated and ten thousand miles from home , the tourists find themselves caught in the clutches of a malevolent force much more heinous than the local myth they set out to experience .
lemon tree passage isn ' t a particularly good horror movie . it ' s not scary enough , first and foremost , often substituting loud noises for genuine scares . the actors don ' t buy in to the events that are happening around them , so why should the audience ? there ' s sometimes a lack of logic to the proceedings , even if there are some wonderfully set up scenes . it feels too long even at a brief 85 ( or so ) minutes . the main mystery is too easy , even though the film bills it as something that we should care about . this isn ' t a success , but it will hopefully give its director the experience necessary to do something better next time .
by the time you learn exactly what ' s happening - - and you ' ll guess it far before the movie explains it , as those flashbacks aren ' t quite as incoherent as the film wants you to think - - you ' re likely to have stopped caring . lemon tree passage only runs for around 85 minutes , but it feels long . it ' s a one - note horror movie , and once it beats that drum enough , you ' ll have given up caring . it doesn ' t help that it ' s also not particularly scary . there won ' t be many screams coming from you or anyone you watch it with . maybe you ' ll jump once or twice , but that ' s about it .
whether you ' re a sceptic or not , a ghostly urban legend that ' s gripped the imagination of port stephens for decades is coming to life in a feature film .
it developed and it grew , and it got a life of its own to a point where it became a feature film , which was really exciting for me .
i can imagine that being a story in your own backyard that you ' ve known of for years turning into a feature film would be quite exciting for people .
a couple of australians ( andrew ryan , tim phillipps ) introduce a group of american backpackers ( jessica tovey , pippa black , tim pocock ) to the local legend of lemon tree passage where the ghost of a motorcyclist warns young drivers to slow down . after seeing the ghost first hand , they uncover a malevolent force that possesses the area and threatens to wreak havoc on the final days of their vacation . isolated and ten thousand miles away from home , the tourists find themselves caught in the clutches of an evil force that ' s much more heinous than the local myth .
the film has a couple of false starts . first , an apparently authentic youtube clip ( discovered during post - production ) that centres on a modern myth about teenagers driving past a certain speed to cause a ghost to appear . lemon tree passage uses this story as its point of departure as its five protagonists , two australian mates and some american backpackers ( two female and one male , a brother to one of the women ) do exactly the same thing . between the clip and the meeting of the american backpackers and the locals , there is the second false start that seems completely disconnected from what becomes before an after : a brutish man , sam ( nicholas gunn ) , rifles through his garage , loads his pistol and attempts to shoot himself only to find his bullets are missing .
twenty something american teens get trapped in a haunting in australia . that ' s just one plot out of two hundred thousand something other stories , which the film keeps confusing itself with .
our group of young people are about to find out some urban legends are real and might not be the most dangerous thing out there . revelations will be made , deaths will occur , and just what is geordie ' s elder brother sam ' s connection to the hauntings going down in backwoods australia ? a decent supernatural film ensues , let ' s hit warp factor nine down the passage .
the film follows the exploits of three american tourists - - maya ( jessica tovey ) , sam ( nicholas gunn ) , and amelia ( pippa black ) - - who meet two locals - - geordie ( tim phillipps ) and oscar ( andrew ryan ) - - and decide to speed down lemon tree passage road . they see the ghost , but aren ' t satisfied . oscar gets out of the car to do some
roadside reporting .
he ' s never heard from again . the ghost is seen , the car speeds past oscar , and then his phone drops dead . a frantic search ensues , and soon enough more of the group is either dead or missing . what ' s going on ? is the ghost real ? is this an elaborate prank ? or is something else afoot ?
the performances are competent enough for the one - dimensional characters , and it’s well shot . the cinematography manages to create some sort of atmosphere ; however , the actual scares are lacking making the whole film seem somewhat empty . it’s difficult to invest in a film when the characters are so uninspiring and you don’t care what happens to them or aren’t even affected by the villainous presence .
three american tourists - maya , amelia , and toby - are hanging at the beach trying to decipher a map of the local region and not having much luck . they attract the attention of geordie and oscar , two aussies who involve them in a game of beach cricket as the day progresses . as night falls the group starts trying to scare each other with ghost stories around a camp fire . oscar , tiring of the yank ' s made up urban legends , tells a true ghost story about a spectre who races after speeding teens down lemon tree passage , and naturally the group has to go check out the validity of the yarn .
lemon tree passage might have been scarier if the actors - - outside jessica tovey , who was great - - would have bought in a little bit more . few scenes had the actors looking scared , there ' s both overacting and underacting - - often back - to - back with one another , and sometimes from the same person - - and it was hard to buy at least two of the
americans
as , well , american , since they were very obviously being played by australians . being american didn ' t even have any impact on the plot ; why not just have it be five local teenagers who want to have a bit of fun ?
it ' s the biggie ; it ' s the annual all things film extravaganza in the south of france that is the festival de cannes . team frightfest is here in force . follow us as we scour the screening rooms of the festival and le marché du film . each day we will report back on the films we see , the people we meet and , of course , the late night mindless shenanigans .
“doing the sound post production for our feature film at sound disposition is a treat . their enthusiasm and attention to audio detail is truly inspiring , and has got me excited about this project all over again . ”
jessica tovey , nicholas gunn , pippa black , tim phillipps , andrew ryan , tim pocock , and piéra forde star in the australian chiller and we ' ve got the first artwork from the film below for your perusal .
the producer jeremy ervine and campbell gave up secure , well - paying jobs in the advertising industry to make the film without the assistance of any state or federal agency . ervine and campbell have formed their own production company , thirteen disciples .
set for release friday , january 26th through vertical entertainment , the neighbor is certainly a film that will stand out among the rest of the drama / thrillers set to hit theaters and video on demand in early 2018 . winner of several awards . . .
yesterday i caught the slash produced first feature nothing left the fear , which alan had watched and enjoyed the day before - a different film from what i was expecting but once the story kicks into high gear it does have some great creepily effective moments .
lemon tree passage , while inspired by the ever - growing urban legend , also references genre films like paranormal activity , poltergeist , and a little bit of the woman in black thrown in for good measure , which should make it more accessible to a wider audience , as well as horror fans . it clearly puts itself in the mind - set of these good chilling ghost stories – so why is it that i came out of it feeling unquenched ? probably because the story is so messy and the dialogue so clunky that i just couldn’t follow what was happening to whom , or why it was happening , to the point that my concern for the characters and events slowly diminished . when there were points of tension and potential scares , it was ruined by a character explaining the convoluted plot , which still failed to make much sense .
the halloween screening in the hunter is the culmination of a series of international debuts for the film . so far , the motion picture has screened in south korea , canada and london , and is due to have a full theatrical release in the near future .
the film is a little bit stylish , and there are a couple of scenes set up really , really well , but most of the time we ' re randomly running around the bushes as the sound design tries to make us feel scared . this is the type of film that feels very much like a debut feature ( it is ) . there is often a lack of logic and the attempts at scaring us aren ' t the most solid , but there ' s some good work here that will hopefully be built upon the next time out .
rushed over to see v / h / s / 2 which i thought was even better than the first one - the film festival mafia ( our cohorts , friends and partners on the international film circuit ) seemed to agree . zero weak links this time and some clever riffs on the tried ( and sometimes tired ) and tested found footage motif - a particular stand - out is the offering from timo tjahjanto and gareth huw evans ( the raid ) - which throws just about everything it can at the screen in a deliriously enjoyable shock segment . there ' s life in that genre strand yet . .
what have we got our eyes on ? well , some of the movies we’ve already seen like stagefright , a brilliant slasher musical , the babadook , the creepy monster book australian sensation , and the mo bros’ superbly suspenseful killers , which of course we are showing in glasgow later this month . even so there’s loads to see over the next six days and we’ll be watching cooties , the pact 2 , goal of the dead , the samurai , starry eyes , lemon tree passage , the guest , dead snow : red vs dead , parts per billion and espectro to name the tip of the massive market iceberg . hopefully we’ll catch christophe gans’ the beauty and the beast with vincent cassel and lea seydoux , and fabrice du welz’s new action flick colt 45 too . plus we’ll be meeting up with all the people , producers and sales agents who have given us movies in the past and have new titles for us to ponder . exciting times ahead and you can read all about it here every day .
strangely lemon tree passage reminded me of lost things in that on first viewing i wasn ' t impressed but on a subsequent viewing was nodding my head in approval . one of those movies then that is worth a second look if you didn ' t get the full enjoyment first time round . even knowing the ending didn ' t detract from my second run through , if anything i picked up on a few extra elements i had missed and could groove to the visuals more . yeah we ' re talking low budget aussie indie , but the production values here outshine a lot of flicks coming at us from the boredwood conveyor belt studios . sure there are a couple of minor problems , we ' ll get to them , but overall highly impressive debut feature from director david campbell who is really going to rock if his follow up feature is a haunted house yarn . okay that might be just me , sucker for a haunted house tale , pretty much i ' ll watch any dark genre flick with the director attached to it .
creates a very compelling set up , with a mysterious urban legend that manages to create some sort of atmosphere for the film . but leave to amateur human nature to fuck it up in its quest to find some sort of hackneyed clichéd storyline to fall back on , too incompetent or too afraid to delve into such atmospheric filmmaking .
in 2009 , he was cast as one of the lead actors in ‘ the dream children ’ . the groundbreaking australian feature follows the story of alex thomson ( nicholas gunn ) and steven evans ( graeme squires ) , a same - sex couple who desire to further their love by secretly raising a family . this controversial film premiered at the melbourne queer festival in march 2015 to a sold - out crowd & the reception it received was exceptional . the dream children has screened in six film festivals thus far including miami , indianapolis , mumbai and torino where nicholas received a ‘best actor’ nomination . the distributor , media lunar films , have successfully managed to secure screenings in both europe and the united states .
mpi who are selling hatchet iii and frankenstein’s army here have just announced three interesting projects . starry eyes is to be directed by kevin kolsch and dennis widmyer about a desperate actress who is promised fame and fortune by a satanic cult . late phases is a werewolf horror by penumbra / cold sweat director adrian garcia bogliano . and cherry tree is the latest from wake wood director david keating .
the big palais screening today was the much anticipated follow up to drive from mr winding - refn - only god forgives which seems to have split the crits in the usual way - but i absolutely loved this glorious slab of pure cinematic genius - every second of the film looks and sounds phenomenal right the way through to the very last closing credit . unmissable !
today it ' s the european fantasy film federation meeting , which is as about exciting as watching paint dry . we need to attend and make the effort each year , but i never look forward to it . there were a few laughs though this year . alan was labelled that big scary person by an attendee and then nominated to be a bouncer on the door of the federation cocktail party tonight .
the film follows two australians telling this chilling ghost story to three travelling americans , the moral of which being a warning to teens to slow down where their driving is concerned . but , after the group see the ghost for themselves on the woodland road , strange and terrible things begin to happen to them . as these horrifying events pursue , they learn that it is something much more sinister that is haunting the group .
wilkommen , bienvenue , welcome to the 64th berlin film festival . not that i planned it this way at all , but it’s exactly twenty years ago that i attended this banner german festival the last time . then i was working for sky movies ( chris smith of severance fame took over from me eventually once barry norman arrived ) and they had sent me to cover one of the films in competition , peter weir’s fabulous fearless , in which jeff bridges played a man whose personality is dramatically changed after surviving a major airline crash . i’ll never forget it as weir was an absolute gentleman and remembered me years later on the truman show . and rosie perez who i adored gave me the greatest interview and went on to win a major berlin award for her performance . we met up again later that year at the venice film festival where she graciously posed for my christmas card that year . have a rosie christmas was the theme .
well , you ' ll have to watch the film to find out , won ' t you ? i ' ll say this : this is pretty standard horror movie affair . weird , incoherent flashbacks tell us that there ' s certainly something going on . traps are set that cause injury and death . hallucinations are rampant . ghosts pass by the camera and the characters don ' t see them . we ' re trying hard to scare the audience , but not necessarily the characters .
the acting is also a little wooden in places , but jessica tovey , playing the central role as maya , is the one who steals the show ; someone who shows a good judge of dramatic tension , successfully toning her performance in accordance to each event . however , the film is not completely devoid of scares : there are some moments that really do make you jump , and even a little tense in places , although perhaps not enough to make it a standout piece within the horror genre .
mercifully short , but no less terrible . dtv horror titles today are all the same . come up with an uninspired urban legend or supernatural origin story , and use it as an excuse for seventy minutes of random jump scares that do not follow any internal logic , and aren ' t linked in any way . i ' m tired of films like this . they are a complete waste of time , with even the enjoyment of picking them apart growing stale . one of these days i ' m going to learn to stop watching a horror film just because it exists .
yesterday was a day of meetings and catching up with old festival friends . i ran into frightfest guest from last summer dominic brunt , robbie moffat , an old friend from scotland , paula devonshire , a guest from our last year at the prince charles and michael doherty , film editor of many many films including several by george romero . recently he has been working on hannibal for abc in the states and is just waiting for the nod to start on a second series . we also learned last night that the said mr romero is working on a prequel to land of the dead with his son cameron .
from the directors of macabre - the mo brothers - is the new masked serial killer film killers which also looks very interesting indeed as does stage fright a full blown rocky shockerer horror musical with minnie driver and meat loaf in the first feature from jerome sable the director of the must see short the legend of beaver creek - please hunt it down if you haven ' t seen this gem . . talking of shorts the lovely team behind last years ff world prem yellow have a feature in development - projection where a projectionist obsessed by a mysterious woman is drawn into a sinister hidden world of murder and dark sexual desire…
but the most exciting news as far as i’m concerned is the continuing rise in giallo productions . while helene cattet and bruno forzani are still editing their amer follow - up the strange colour of your body’s tears – we see the promo reel that everyone is raving about on monday – word reached me from park entertainment that those astron - 6 boys matthew kennedy and adam brooks ( manborg , father’s day ) are about to direct the editor an all - out giallo homage . something akin to berberian sound studio , the story concerns a newsreel / stag film editor with four wooden fingers who finds a dead body in the suite he’s working in . but there’s more to his reality than meets the eye in this meta - movie that builds to a frenzied climax according to the synopsis .
it was an early start for us at the 64th berlin film festival today . i must make it quite clear that we are on the market section , nothing to do with the competition strand , as i ' ve see quite a few of those already . my tip even though my review is embargoed for the time being ? hossein amini ' s the two faces of january based on the patricia highsmith thriller from 1964 . we had already seen stagefright so gave that a miss while telling all our festival programmer friends to make sure they didn ' t . lots of people went to see nacho vigalondo ' s open windows and gave it the thumbs up . but paul and i decided to do the rounds of our sales agent friends instead to see what they had on the horizon for us .
quite the best movie so far in the market is till kleinert ' s the samurai , a unique and startling essay in german small - town mores and sexual funny games . a package arrives at the home of young police officer jakob ( a remarkable michel diercks ) addressed to lone wolf . the phone rings , it ' s a guy asking if his package is there , and could it be delivered straight away . intrigued more than put out jakob goes to a lonely house in the woods and finds a man in a dress waiting for the samurai sword hidden in the parcel so he can cut a swathe through the local village population . but this extraordinary item is a lot more than that and as the heads roll so does the intrigue and puzzlement . who is this maniac and what does he want ? the final answer is shocking , hard as nails and thrilling . best described as dressed to kill through a jorge buttgereit filter , you will not believe pit bukowski ' s incredible performance as the wild - eyed psycho that goes way beyond the call of acting duty . plus it looks fantastic , the soundtrack is a dance club dream and the gore effects are unusual to say the least . every genre film festival will want this movie , only the brave will dare show it .
on saturday , i had a real cannes moment . i was at the variety party , one of our sponsors , and i get a text from terry bird . i met terry down here many years ago when he returned my wallet , which i had left in a taxi , and we have stayed in touch . he also produced and starred in community , which we showed last year in august . fancy catching up for a beer . of course , i replied . ok , be in touch later . an hour later my phone pings . meet me at 9 . 30pm at the palais . so , off i go and arrive at the appointed hour . after all the normal pleasantries i say ,
so where do you fancy going ?
come with me ,
terry says . we head off down the pier , right to the end where there ' s a flash motor boat waiting to take me out into the bay to this huge blue boat anchored about a mile off shore . i have been on yachts here before , but this one was in another league . i have never seen such opulence . the yacht was being rented by a new film studio setting up to rival pinewood , who have a yacht here every year , so this new outfits one had to be bigger . why was i invited , other than a nice gesture from terry , i have no idea , but you don ' t look a cannes gift horse in the mouth ? a real cannes moment to rival my often told christopher lee story . wait , you haven ' t heard that one ? well , mr mcevoy and i were at this party and … maybe another time .
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todd brown , toronto , canada founder and editor peter martin , dallas , texas , usa managing editor ryland aldrich , los angeles , california festivals editor james marsh , hong kong , china asian editor ben umstead , los angeles , california u . s . editor more . . .
the actors run the gamut from under - trained to overplaying and largely look unconvinced by the movie themselves . several times , phillipps and black seem unable to reconcile the words they have to say , with the emotions they are called upon to emit . this is where jessica tovey stands out .
a whirlwind tour of europe through the tales of celebrated filmmakers . all movies are available to stream right now at sbs on demand .
audiences are rejecting this summer’s procession of tired sequels , and international grosses won’t be enough to keep studios afloat forever .
it was saturday night , he ' d had a couple of beers and was sitting in the passenger seat of his mate ' s car - a p - plater - on the way to a party .
i was looking in the side mirror and then all of a sudden this light appeared , approaching really fast behind us ,
the anna bay resident told the newcastle herald .
it came from nowhere , i ' d been watching it for about 20 seconds when my mate noticed too , it was sitting maybe 20 or 30 metres off the car , i couldn ' t see anything but the light .
they hit a bend in the road and another car went by in the opposite direction ; the light vanished the moment it passed .
the story usually involves two young men in an accident in the late 1980s : the rider supposedly lost his leg while the other , a pillion passenger , died .
you must have p - plates on the car and be driving after midnight on a saturday .
mr finn ' s encounter took place back in 2007 . he ' d never heard of the legend but later he realised all the rules fit the description of his experience - and he was
creeped out
by what he was told .
but there ' s one other crucial element of the story that makes it a particularly controversial tale .
all versions of the legend include the same dangerous element - that you must be doing in excess of 100km / h .
it has made the legend a burden to police - in one night in 2010 police caught seven motorists speeding on the road .
inspector guy flaherty from the port stephens local area command knows all about the ghost , like most port police he ' s spent plenty of cold nights patrolling the dangerous road .
he ' s never seen a ghost , but has seen plenty of young people doing stupid things .
i think it would be prudent for people to realise the basis of this myth - and it is a myth - was that someone died exceeding the speed limit ,
he said .
the whole thing has arisen because of someone going beyond their abilities as a driver , breaking the law , and tragically paying the price for that .
locals know that police maintain a heavy patrol of the road and the most common lights sighted in the rear - view mirror are blue and red .
according to newcastle paranormal investigator murray byfield , motorists don ' t need to speed to see the famous apparition .
he ' s seen the light but says that rather than being a ghost , it ' s a trick of the terrain .
because your line of sight isn ' t interrupted for that whole stretch , you can see the light in the distance , but because it ' s so far away you can only see the one beam of light coming towards you ,
mr byfield explained .


punjab 1984 ( punjabi : ਪੰਜਾਬ ੧੯੮੪ ) is a 2014 indian punjabi period drama film directed by anurag singh .

it is based on the 1984-86 punjab insurgency 's impact on social life , notably it is a story of a mother and her missing son .

starring diljit dosanjh and kirron kher , the film is the fourth collaboration between director singh and actor dosanjh .

punjab 1984 released on 27 june 2014 to excellent box office collections .

punjab 1984

my first objection to punjab 1984 is that it attempts to detach the symbolism of punjab + 1984 from the trauma suffered by the sikhs .
punjab 1984 fourth day box office response revolving around the story of punjab 1984 scenario that is about the families who lost their loved and . . .
punjab 1984 second day box office response latest punjabi movie punjab 1984 is the first intense project in a punjabi film by the director anurag . . .
punjab 1984 expected first day box office collection punjab 1984 is most awaited punjabi film and a dream project for diljit dosanjh , who’s playing the . . .
punjab 1984 & transformers 4 sixth ( 6th ) day collection at box . . .
punjab 1984 fifth day box office collection report punjab 1984 is a punjabi movie released on 27th june along with “ek villain” . reports have revealed that this film . . .
anurag singh , the writer - director of punjab 1984 , maintains the film is not political .
punjab 1984 is a punjabi language drama , with english subtitles , about a woman ' s search for her missing son ; the film is set against the backdrop of political unrest in punjab in 1984 .
punjab 1984 was written and shot in india , but was produced by vancouver - based white hill productions .
in a first of sorts , filmmaker mahesh bhatt has tweeted about the recently released punjabi film ���������punjab 1984��������� .
looking for movie tickets ? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing punjab 1984 near you .
the two big films which stood out at the awards for 2015 were punjab 1984 , and jatt james bond .
punjab 1984 is an upcoming punjabi movie based on 1984 anti - sikh riots by indian government starring diljit dosanjh , kirron kher , pawan malhotra etc . anurag singh is the director of movie and manmord sidhu & gunbir singh sidhu are producers . punjab 1984 will be released on 11th july 2014 . first look :
today , i got a chance to watch diljit dosanjh’s movie “punjab 1984” . during the promotion of this movie it was said that the film was based on facts which presents the trauma of 1984 .
secondly , the movie is plotted in an entirely different ground than that of “punjab + 1984” and some loose rings are inserted in to the story to make it appear that it was connected to “punjab” and “1984” . these rings are far away from the facts . i think many would agree with me that the title “punjab 1984” was given just to market the movie in a more powerful way .
has tweeted about the recently released punjabi film ���������punjab 1984��������� . he took to the social networking site on wednesday to say , ���������punjabi film
the two big films which stood out at the awards for 2015 were punjab 1984 and jatt james bond . ‘best film’ was won by the historical and political epic punjab 1984 , while ‘best director’ and ‘best debut director’ was given to rohit jugraj for jatt james bond .
watch online exclusive interview with diljit dosanj and sonam bajwa for thier upcoming movie punjab 1984 punjab 1984 is a 2014 punjabi historic , drama , action film directed by anurag singh . the film is based on 1984 anti - sikh riots & a story of a mother and her missing son . the film will be released on 27 june 2014 .
bollywood veteran feels the film is worthy of oscarbollywood actor anupam kher is so impressed with director anurag singh’s punjab 1984 , a punjabi film focusing on the ill effects of 1984 - 86 punjab insurgency on social life , that he says it is worth going to the oscars .
on the heels of 47 to 84 comes punjab 1984 , another film that tackles the subject of the 1984 anti - sikh riots . punjab 1984 is the story of satwant kaur ( kirron kher ) , a woman in search of her son , shivjit ( diljit dosanjh ) . as she tries to locate her son , satwant crosses paths with corrupt policemen , . . .
punjab 1984 : when cinema speaks , the language can wait | f . i . g . h . t c . l . u . b
punjab 1984 is an upcoming punjabi movie based on 1984 anti - sikh riots by indian government starring diljit dosanjh , kirron kher , pawan malhotra etc . anurag singh is the director of movie and manmord sidhu & gunbir singh sidhu are producers
actually , no issue is at the focus of the movie . this is an imaginary story that has been named as “punjab 1984” just to sell it .
punjab 1984 first day box office response directed by anurag singh and produced by gunbir singh sidhu & manmord sidhu , the latest punjabi emotional cum . . .
1 . punjab 1984 total box office collection • punjab 1984 , movie has earn good box office income on 1st weekend . moreover , 5th day business of punjab 1984 is expected to rs . 1 crores ( approx . ) however , all songs of the movie are liked by audience very much . 1st week bo collection of the film is predicted as rs . 9 crores ( approx . ) • urltoken collection - total - 5 - days - income - report /
punjab 1984 & transformers : age of extinction 6th day box office response after a successful and decent opening day business and audience response , both the . . .
punjab 1984 ( punjabi ) movie wikithis month seems to be a pack of good entertainers in the punjabi cinemas . after the success of so many . . .
singer - actor diljit singh starrer punjabi movie punjab 1984 bagged award for best film during ptc punjabi film awards function held on march 17 at multipurpose stadium here .
now coming to overseas business , punjab 1984 as expected has done commendable business overseas throughout the world in its 1st weekend . the business is 2nd only to jatt & juliet 2 which released on the same weekend last year . the following tables shows the overseas box office data comparison for jatt & juliet 2 and punjab 1984 .
punjab 1984 third day box office response ( 1st weekend ) after so much effort and buzz in its production and story , the much popular and awaited . . .
punjab 1984 movie review anurag singh who has earlier directed so many good and entertainment focused movies like jatt & juliet , jatt & juliet 2 , disco . . .
a new punjabi movie , “punjab 1984” starring diljit dosanjh was released last friday . the movie was directed by anurag singh who claimed that his movie was “not - political” .
the new “recruits” take training in pakistan and return to punjab to undertake “actions” .
at the expense of repetition i want to say that i had no objections to a film based on a mother - son tragedy , family rivalry , police atrocities , or the corruption of selfish politicians ; but i do object to this movie because : despite being plotted in an entirely different ground it has used the powerful symbolism of “punjab 1984” apparently for commercial interests ; secondly , it attempts to detach the symbolism of “punjab 1984” from 1984 trauma suffered by the sikhs ; thirdly it transmits only that much information about 1984 and post - 1984 which strengthens the state - sponsored symbolism of “dark - times” to refer to the events of 1984 and the aftermath ; and lastly it is a negative portrayal of the sikh struggle .
during the awards , the jersey of celebrity cricket league punjab team was also unveiled .
1984 punjab is a story and performance oriented film and not the entertaining or such film so the music of the film has been kept suitable for the story and script . the script does not demand any unnecessary music or songs that are why the music of this film is simple and related to the theme of the script . music of 1984 punjab has been composed by nick .
“बड़े पर्दे पर दिखा पंजाब के काले दौर 1984 का सच” , reads a headline by amar ujala .
the film is a different concept other than nowadays movies that are based on romance , comedy and action . it is being said quite similar to be in story like the super hit and popular historical film sadda haq . this film shows some new thing mixed with the history of punjab and it is too clear that the movie will be based on the punjab history and historical background . the film revolves on situation of punjab in 1984 . diljit is playing a lead role in this movie . this movie shows that what critical condition punjab had in 1984 . but now it is totally changed . now punjab is well known a good state in the india .
( 1 ) attempt to detach “punjab 1984” trauma from the sikh memory : “1984” has a special meaning for the sikhs . it has become a symbol of the trauma suffered by the sikh nation . sikhs regarded the attack by the indian army at darbar sahib amritsar in june 1984 as the “ghallughara” . the event holds the status of cultural trauma for the sikhs . for the last three decades there was a flood of state propaganda to wash away june 1984 from the sikh memory , but not only did the sikhs remember the trauma of 1984 , they also tried to establish their own narrative about this trauma .
the growing unrest in punjab came to head in 1984 , when the controversial sikh preacher jarnail singh bhindranwale and his armed followers took residence inside the golden temple , the sikh version of the vatican .
earthquake 26th dec . 2015 punjab , delhi , islamabad region at 0 : 45 a . m
the dhamakedar ptc punjabi film awards took place on march 17 , 2015 in mohali , punjab .
punjab 1984 has outstanding performances by diljit dosanjh , kiron kher and pawan malhotra and been been written and directed by anurag singh without the usual commercial trappings which makes its huge box office success even more outstanding .
the story in punjab 1984 is one that happened all across punjab . family disputes , land disputes and other business disputes became thrown into and interwoven with the ongoing insurgency . some people joined a jathebandi to ensure their security or because a rival had joined another jathebandi . in many disputes about money or land , one side paid the police to frame their rivals in order to get rid of them . ” ( excerpt from simran kaur’s review – “ punjab 1984 : an opportunity for thought & reflection ” published by sikh24 ) .
if “regional” cinema like punjab 1984 is needed to shake up a national industry , then so be it . but hope the shake - up happens at some level . no place is a bad place to learn from .
disco singh was another big winner , with surveen chawla taking the trophy for ‘best actress’ . the ‘best actor’ award was split between diljit dosanjh and gippy grewal for their respective films , punjab 1984 and jatt james bond .
this is the story of a mother and her missing son set in the backdrop of 1984 punjab , when the state was going through a terrible time of terrorism . the film depicts the longing of a mother for her son and her search for her son , who is labelled a terrorist because of the bad times in punjab .
it’s the latest blockbuster that you might not have heard about . a bit of googling tells me that anurag singh’s punjab 1984 had no takers intially . a serious drama in the backdrop of 1984 , and that too in the age of yoyohoneysingh and jatt - juliet , who would watch ? but if only formulas and calculations of what - works - what - doesn’t could prove right every time , we would have been deprived of some of the best films ever made . shailesh kapoor tells us why anurag singh’s punjab 1984 is a must watch , and how it has turned out to be such a blockbuster .
were full even in delhi . film collected 1 . 03 cr nett in east punjab and 12 lakhs in rest
punjab 1984 is the story of a mother and her missing son , set in the backdrop of 1984 punjab , when the state was plagued by terrorism . the film depicts the longing of a mother for her son and her search for her son , who is labelled a terrorist . it shows how he eventually fights for his rights , while longing to return home because of his love for his mother . it also tells us more about the time , which was very sensitive for the youth of punjab . the film is dedicated to the thousands of mothers who lost their sons to these riots .
even as i went in with high expectations , i was not prepared for the brilliance of the cinematic experience i was about to be a part of . know the song “luka chhuppi” from rang de basanti ? punjab 1984 is that song’s little story told through a film . and even though the song featured waheeda rehman as the mother , punjab 1984 can well be described as the story of kirron kher’s character in the same rang de basanti , converted into a full - length feature film .
a very good news for diljit dosanjh fans that his latest movie punjab 1984 have got huge success from overseas countries and even beat the bollywood toppers their . let us have a quick look on the detailed overseas collection by taran adarsh bollywood hungama .
this is the story of a mother and her missing son set in the backdrop of 1984 punjab , when the state was going through a terrible time of terrorism . the film depicts the longing of a mother for her son and her search for her son , who is labelled a terrorist because of the bad times in punjab . it also depicts the sensitive time for the youth of punjab . further , the film is dedicated to thousands of those mothers who lost their sons .
that being said , it’s not my concern to make suggestions to the makers , i simply want to assert my point that the movie’s plot was independent of “punjab + 1984” and that the title appears to be nothing more than a good marketing strategy .
audio articles on june 1984 ( 24 ) : ਨੀਦਾਂ ਦਾ ਕਤਲ ਅਤੇ ਸ਼ਹੀਦਾਂ ਦਾ ਗਜ਼ਬ . . . ( prof . harinder singh mehboob )
“punjab 1984 isn’t a propaganda film for the khalistan movement , nor should we have expected it to have been . that having been said , i believe the film is positive towards the movement and daljit’s character , shivjit singh ( shiv ) is a strong protagonist .
director anurag singh has directed some of those mindless blockbuster punjabi comedies , one of which i encountered in the aforementioned bus trip . with a solid script and a superb starcast , he comes into his own with punjab 1984 , delivering a knockout performance at the helm .
i ' d say 6 january , 1984 , and each time the response would be , ' oh ! you were born during the massacres . ' i never understood what they meant . what is this [ massacre ] they are talking about ,
says mr . dosanjh , a popular punjabi singer - actor and star of the movie punjab 1984 , which opens across 60 theatres in north america on friday .
go and watch punjab 1984 in a theatre if you can . even if the language is entirely alien to you , the universality of emotions will cut through to you , right across the screen . and great performance can be heard , even when you don’t understand a word .
more importantly for the punjabi film industry is that a genre outside comedy has worked in such a big way . the industry was stagnating as 90 % of the films being made were comedies and while budgets were going up business was not . punjab 1984 is an emotional period drama and is totally different from what has worked in punjab for the last 30 years or so as far as punjabi films are concerned .
punjab 1984 has emerged a blockbuster and is set to be one of the biggest punjabi blockbusters of all time . the film had a great opening and the way it has sustained over the weekdays is even better . the film looks set to be one of the rare films to go over 10 crore nett in east punjab . it could even become the highest grosser ever but that all depends on weeks three to five .
the issue of language strained relationships between punjab state and india ' s federal government , causing tensions that led to the explosive events of 1984 , which in turn led to the deepest scar on the collective conscience of canada ' s sikh community – the air india bombing of 1985 that killed 329 .
click to share on facebook : urltoken movie : punjab 1984 starring : diljit dosanjh , kirron kher , pavan raj malhotra , arun bali , rana ranbir , sonam bajwa , manav vij , vishwas kini , vansh bhardwaj & g . s . channi produced by : gunbir singh sidhu & manmord sidhu studio : white hill productions & basic brothers productions directed by : anurag singh facebook : urltoken click here to subscribe for more updates on punjab 1984 : urltoken published year : 2014 copyright : white hill music & entertainment private limited f - 545 , 1st floor , phase - 8a industrial area , mohali - 160059
its a story of a mother and her missing son set in the backdrop of 1984 punjab , when the state was going through a terrible time of terrorism . the film depicts the longing of a mother for her son and her search for her son , who is labelled a terrorist because of the bad times in punjab and how he eventually fights for his rights and paralllelly longs to return home because of his love for his mother . it also depicts the sensitive time for the youth of punjab . further , the film is dedicated to thousands of those mothers who lost their sons .
punjab 1984 which released this week has set the cash registers ringing for it’s producers as well as distributors all over the world . the film has seen some fantastic collections throughout the weekend and even the film has held it’s own on monday and tuesday . the following table shows the collection comparisons between the 3 biggest openers of punjabi cinema in east punjab region . rest of india figures are not shown due to complete data not available for disco singh .
it’s a story of a mother and her missing son set in the backdrop of 1984 punjab , when the state was going through a terrible time of terrorism . the film depicts the longing of a mother for her son and her search for her son , who is labeled a terrorist because of the bad times in punjab and how he eventually fights for his rights and paralleled longs to return home because of his love for his mother . it also depicts the sensitive time for the youth of punjab . further , the film is dedicated to thousands of those mothers who lost their sons . punjabi with english subtitles .
pavan malhotra who plays an important role in “punjab : 1984” says punjabis don’t like to open their wounds for public scrutiny and perhaps that’s why we don’t find the reflection of 1984 in the films more often . “punjabis love to laugh at themselves but history tells us that after every fourth generation punjabis have to start afresh . we have braved invaders but have survived to tell our stories . when people identify us with crude humour , i tell them the most telling romantic epics are written in this part of the world . ”
in the 1980s and 1990s , india fought a violent insurgency by sikh militants who wanted to establish their own independent homeland in the northern punjab province . the conflict led to the assassination of prime minister indira gandhi by her sikh bodyguards in 1984 . campaigners say serious human rights abuses were carried out by indian security forces deployed to quell the unrest .
the movie , to be released on friday ( june 27 ) , chronicles the lives of common people of punjab after the tragic and turbulent events of 1984 . the protagonist , satwant kaur , played by veteran actor and chandigarh mp kirron kher , is a woman whose son disappears suddenly . satwant spends her days travelling from town to town , looking for her son .
this movie defames the militant movement and shows khalistani characters as a cruel entities . this film should not be confused of having relation to the 1984 trauma of the sikhs or the sikh freedom movement .
glowing online reviews of last week’s release , punjab 1984 , forced me to a theatre during my short delhi trip earlier this week . my interest in operation bluestar has grown over the last few years , leading me to read a few books on the subject . that familiarity with the subject , and the presence of kirron kher in the principal cast , was sufficient motivation .
the 2015 ptc punjabi film awards was a glamorous affair , welcoming the superstars of punjab to celebrate the best of punjabi cinema and entertainment . find out who won what here .
star cast of punjab 1984 is very popular and is being expected to attract most of the audience especially in punjabi dominated areas . hope diljit will hit the record of punjabi movie . diljit already worked well in jatt & juliet , lions of punjab . he is a good singer . he made record hit with his song lakk 28 kudi da with yo yo honey singh . diljit dosanjh is a superb actor in punjabi music industry . he has millions of fans and he is an old singer in punjabi music industry . there are many names being heard as the star cast of the movie .
that’s all anurag singh’s punjab 1984 is , and all it had to be , a story about a mother looking for her son . the film opens with a brilliant scene during the attack on golden temple , a scene so poignant , i’d have to look long and hard to find anything which matches its simplicity and sincerity while depicting such an important and sensitive event for millions of sikhs around the world .
at the end of the movie , families of those subjected to enforced disappearances in punjab were shown on screen holding photos of victims . brief details were also extended about victims and their families .
new delhi : disallowed by the delhi bar council from appearing for the victims of the 1984 anti - sikh riots in several cases against congress leader sajjan kumar and others on the ground that as leader of opposition in punjab assembly he enjoyed an office of profit , noted lawyer h . s . phoolka has decided to give up the cabinet - rank post in the state to return to delhi and fight the cases .
the movie has evoked mixed reactions from the audience . diljit’s fans , mostly teenagers are praising the movie and some even went on to say that now they know the “facts” about 1984 as these were shown in the movie .
the cast and crew of much - hyped punjabi film ‘punjab 1984’ were in chandigarh on thursday to promote the movie . while director anurag singh spoke of the film and his choice of a tough subject , actors diljit ( left ) dosanjh and sonam bajwa ( right ) shared their experiences of working in a period film . gunbir singh sidhu of white hill productions and basic brothers productions spoke about his expectations from the film .
the story is set during the times of insurgency in punjab and its adverse effect on social life . a mother searches for his missing son during insurgency times . will she be able to find her son ?
. very few actor / singers match the passion that diljit dosanjh shares for punjabi music / cinema and once again he is coming in his new movie named punjab 1984 . this film was in controversies due to news that it has not found any producer for itself but now everything and doubt is clear after the final reveal that the director of the film is anurag singh and producer is gunbir singh sidhu . the film is going to hit the box office on
no doubt , the movie is made while relating to the story with the times of 1984 . the movie starts with death of a character who gets killed by army while he was going to darbar sahib on martyrdom anniversary of guru arjan sahib ji .
the story of love punjab revolves around a family in which husband and wife fights daily for small reasons and their son is only victim of these fights . after suffering from all these . . . see full summary »
meanwhile , punjab and haryana high court advocate hemant kumar , who had through his petitions under the right to information act obtained information on how the advocate generals of punjab and haryana also enjoy the status of a cabinet minister , has questioned whether barring phoolka from practice while allowing the ags to even appear for the state was not discriminatory , since neither had taken the oath of a cabinet minister but only enjoyed the status of the rank .
the increase in budgets and reach has given the punjabi films some muscle to flex . “now spending rs . 5 to 8 crores on a film is fairly common and we are releasing films with 150 to 175 prints , ” says anurag . “this time we are planning to release the film in territories like kolkata and smaller centres like indore which have not been tapped before , ” says singh . malhotra says the producer had put just one advertisement of “punjab 1984” but it managed good response for two weeks at cinemax in mumbai’s andheri area which is not considered as a hotspot for punjabi films . “this shows that the film managed to cross the language barrier . ” he doesn’t know what the success of “punjab : 1984” will hold for the industry but with a punjabi film releasing every week , anurag says , the filmmakers are looking for newer subjects . in fact the backdrop of militancy has been raised in films like “sadda haq” and “1947 to 1984” but since their presentation was not worthy of national appeal they were not noticed . and the subjects are not always a copy of bollywood . gippy grewal’s “mirza” played out like a hollywood thriller with a healthy use of silence , a rarity in punjabi films .
all of the scenes related to the sikh militancy give the following impression : there was no ideological commitments of those joining the militancy after the attack on darbar sahib and the sikh genocide of 1984 ; further still , that most had joined for personal reasons .
set against the backdrop of the unrest in punjab between 1984 and 1986 , the movie is about
a mother ' s search for her missing son ,
he said .
the story i have tried to tell is a story that is not part of headlines anywhere ,
he says .
it ' s a story that maybe the larger media is not interested in . for them , these people are just figures – so many people are missing , so many people died .
a mother - son story set in the aftermath of operation bluestar , punjab 1984 has a grammar that’s uniquely matter - of - fact . it does not attempt to commercialize the subject , and equally importantly , it does not do the reverse either – of trying to be an off - beat film that demands to be taken seriously . as a result , what we get is a human story , laced with human situations and dialogue , directed with a free spirit that blends entertainment with sensitivity effortlessly .
punjab 1984 is set to cross the 10 crore mark , which remains a magical figure for punjabi films , much like 150 or 200 crore for bollywood . it’s been four days since i watched it , and i’m still wondering why an industry more than 20 times in size not produce such films , at a rate more than once or twice a year . and by “such films” , i don’t mean this exact film , but unconventional subjects where human emotions are treated as , well , human emotions .
the story begins when the father of shiva ( played by diljit dosanjh ) was killed during “crossfire” in the parikarma of darbar sahib between the indian army and sikhs in june 1984 . shiva’s father was termed as a terrorist and his body was disposed of by the state .
like phoolka , who was elected aap mla but has not taken a formal oath as a cabinet minister and was only leader of opposition in the punjab assembly , the two ags have been granted the same status by their respective appointee governments .
this 10 crore nett figure for punjabi films in east punjab is like the 200 crore nett figure for hindi films . till date only three films ( jatt and juliet 2 , jatt and juliet and carry on jatta ) have crossed this mark .
the film will collect around 5 . 75 - 6 crore nett in east punjab in week one which is the second highest first week figure ever and with the fantastic appreciation it has received the 10 crore nett lifetime total will not be difficult .
a government investigation has found that the uk had only a
limited impact
on india ' s 1984 assault on the amritsar golden temple , sikhism ' s holiest shrine . the raid ' s death toll is still disputed after almost 30 years . ( 04 . 02 . 2014 )
“i have decided to quit as the leader of opposition in he punjab assembly and i have conveyed my decision to the party high command , ” he declared , adding that he had discussed the issue with party leader arvind kejriwal before taking the decision .
the lack of acting talent is often cited as a limitation but with singer - actors like dilji dosanjh and gippy grewal finding acceptance and with jimmy shergill making his presence felt on home turf , the industry looks in safe hands . pavan says when a hindi film actor shows multiple facets we call him versatile but when a punjabi singer , acts we call it lack of talent in the industry . “diljit dosanjh is known for his comic timing but in “punjab : 1984” he has done the emotional scenes with equal felicity . he gave a layered performance . ”
firstly , no one had earlier portrayed the events of june 1984 on the big screen , especially what happened inside the darbar sahib complex . but this movie did it although in a very small part and the argument could be put that it was just to the extent that was connected to the story of shiva ( as his father died in that scene , refer earlier in this write - up ) . but my concerns are with what “impression” that scene leaves ? innocents being killed in the cross fire – isn’t that an impression about the events of june 1984 that the state wants to leave ?
the word ' shareek ' may refer to ' sharing ' in dictionary but in punjab it had always been opposite to it . as time flies , one doesn ' t even notice that how and when the brothers become the . . . see full summary »
several people , including at least one policeman , have been killed in an attack by gunmen on a police station in the northern indian state of punjab . security has been stepped up on the border to pakistan in response . ( 27 . 07 . 2015 )
diljit dosanjh , the star of punjabi blockbuster ‘jatt & juliet’ and its sequel , claims that his part in ‘punjab 1984’ is his dream role . he says that the choice of this film was not a difficult one for him . “i have been planning to make a film on this subject myself . i used to think that maybe after a few years , i will make this film on my own . it came as a surprise that anurag was also thinking on the same lines and when he approached me with the script , i accepted it right away , ” he says .
“in fact , ” kumar said , “nanda is enrolled with bar council of delhi and it has no objection to his practising despite holding a cabinet - minister rank . ” in the case of mahajan , kumar said he is registered with the punjab and haryana bar council .
i apologise for the long quote above but it perfectly reflects what was shown by anurag singh ( writer - cum - director of punjab 1984 ) in his movie . as readers can see , the author of the above review went on to justify everything in the movie ( especially arguments regarding those joining the movement due to personal reasons , goon elements , corrupt politicians etc . ) saying it had all existed , but at the same time ignoring the fact that there was another side of the picture as well , one that anurag hid ( it’s not simply that he did not merely present it ) .
yet , i have never watched a punjabi film in a theatre before this thursday . till recently , punjabi cinema was not a thriving industry . over the last 3 - 4 years , the industry has found its feet , thanks to the mushrooming of multiplexes in the east punjab territory , creating a fertile ground for business . yet , their cinema has been skewed towards the comedy genre . in a bus trip in punjab last year , i was subject to watching one such punjabi blockbuster on video . assault on the senses won’t be an over - statement to describe the experience .
after 30 years , even state propagandists find it hard to boldly justify their ( mis ) deeds of that time , therefore a new interpretation is being forwarded that the people of punjab were crushed between two wheels – terrorism / militancy and state repression . the movie is clearly along these lines .
“even the advocate generals of twin states of punjab and haryana have been conferred rank and status of state cabinet minister by their respective governments . while in respect of baldev raj mahajan , the order in this regard was issued by haryana’s administration of justice department on august 31 , 2015 i . e . over nine months after he was appointed in november 2014 , thus making him the first ever haryana ag to enjoy the same privilege , in respect of his punjab counterpart , atul nanda , the same notification was issued immediately on his appointment on march 16 , 2017 , ” said kumar .
having fought pro bono ( without any fees ) for over three decades the cases of 1984 riot victims , phoolka is a known and very well - respected figure in the legal , social and political fraternity . it came as a surprise when earlier this month he revealed that the delhi bar council has denied him permission to fight the riots cases .
technically , punjabi is my “mother tongue” . i have grown up seeing my parents converse in the language at home , as well as with friends and relatives . i have even studied punjabi as a third language in school for two years , till i was shifted from a sikh school to a “normal” school , post the 1984 riots in delhi .
now we are standing three decades on and a new generation of sikhs has grown up . these youngsters did not experience the events of 1984 but they feel attached to those events . they are in search of matter to understand these events . books , audio - visual ( lectures , talks , interviews ) , social media discussions help them to have that understanding .
the council’s decision has raised the pertinent issue of whether being a cabinet minister is the same as enjoying cabinet - rank status . an rti activist has questioned if by that yardstick the congress government in punjab and that of the bjp in haryana are right in conferring cabinet - minister rank on two senior practising law officers .
phoolka , who had unsuccessfully contested the lok sabha election from punjab on an aam aadmi party ticket in 2014 , had won the assembly election earlier this year . after that aap , which had won 20 seats in the 117 - member house and emerged as the largest opposition party , had made him the leader of opposition .
film collected 1 . 12 cr nett on saturday and 1 . 50 cr nett on sunday which was huge . film collected 3 . 77 cr nett all india over weekend . film added 3 cr nett on weekdays which was super solid . film collected close to 6 . 10 cr nett in east punjab and 65 lakhs in rest of india .
a society is considered mature when it gathers the courage to look within . so when punjabi film industry , often described as pollywood , the poor cousin of bollywood got wings courtesy a flurry of romantic comedies one wondered when will we get to watch a punjabi film which will dare to look at real issues that confront the state . recently , cutting through the jatt juggernaut , “punjab : 1984” managed to confront the ghosts of the past . the poignant tale of a mother’s search for her son during insurgency , the period film proved that punjabi cinema has more emotions than just a sense of humour and that the fledgling industry can express itself with technical finesse . released in the last week of june , the film held its own in front of bollywood biggies and continues to win praise from critics .
anurag singh who has earlier directed so many good and entertainment focused movies like jatt & juliet , jatt & juliet 2 , disco singh and yaar anmulle , all of which were fun packed comedies ; this is his first serious subject in a punjabi movie which is based on a very sensitive topic of 1984 genocide . apart from the director anurag singh , its a first time for diljit dosanjh as well to face a new challenge
but the point of concern is that the movie is not so remotely connected to that time period which could make this argument acceptable . the movie presented an overview of militancy in the punjab – scenes related to the sikh militant movement in the movie present only the image of the struggle as mindless , violent and cruel terrorism that was being fueled by some self - interested politicians .
film witnessed almost minimal drops on weekdays which was very good . film continued good work in 2nd week and film was super steady over weekend . film collected 55 lakhs , 70 lakhs and 95 lakhs respectively on friday , saturday and sunday . film added 2 . 20 cr nett in 2nd weekend all over india out of which 1 . 85 cr nett was from east punjab .
after this point , the movie goes from being a grounded representation of the reality of punjab to generic masala fare . the last thirty minutes might be inspired by any number of the mainstream ‘100 crore club’ bollywood movies . i literally cringed at the salman khanesque moment when the ‘hero’ challenges the arresting officer ( the villain in this case ) and throws away his gun to have a hand to hand fight .
click to subscribe : urltoken ptc punjabi film awards 2015 nomination for best actor . . . amrinder gill - goreyan nu daffa karo ( pfaba1 ) diljit dosanjh - punjab 1984 ( pfaba2 ) diljit dosanjh - disco singh ( pfaba3 ) gippy grewal - jatt james bond ( pfaba4 ) harish verma - proper patola ( pfaba5 ) jimmy sheirgill - aa gaye munde uk de ( pfaba6 ) nav bajwa - fateh ( pfaba7 ) roshan prince - ishq brandy ( pfaba8 ) to vote type pfaba & your option ( 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 or 8 ) & sent it to 56060 vote online on urltoken ptc punjabi film awards 2015 coming soon . . . the only punjabi award ceremony where the biggest stars of film fraternity come together and celebrate excellence in punjabi cinema . the ptc punjabi film awards is not simply an event , its is a recognition of the finest talent and pride of the punjabi film industry .
nineteen - eighty - four was a watershed year for punjabis ,
says mr . singh , in a telephone interview from his parents ' home in punjab .
i still remember operation bluestar . we used to live in a rented place close to the golden temple . i was on the terrace playing , and it was growing dark , when i started to hear noises . then i saw the sky lighting up , traces of light crisscrossing the night sky . i thought it was firecrackers .
first of all i would say that . . the movie ' s outstanding ! anurag singh ( the director ) just proved that you don ' t need more than 7 0 million rupees ( $ 1 , 500 , 000 approx ) to make a movie that may actually hit hard all those senseless , masala - filled indian movies . i found kirron kher ' s performance in punjab 1984 as the best until this day . she ' ll make you cry , make you laugh and capture your senses silently with those expressions . most of the scenes were technically and emotionally genuine . i mean it . i find it very rare . acting was too good by lead artists , and even better by the rest of crew . movie direction was superb by anurag singh ( huge change after giving 4 - 5 back to back comedy hits ) . songs ' lyrics need special mentioning . . great ! shooting sets were realistic , giving the audience total feel of the 1980s ' unfortunate happenings . i would ' ve rated it with 9 stars , but an extra one especially for kirron kher . respect .
as sukhwinder took centre stage to perform to his latest hit numbers , he called bobby as well and they talked jointly about their upcoming venture ramta jogi . neeru bajwa performed a romantic medley along with roshan prince and jassi gill . the audience stood up as gurdas ji was honoured with as “special star forever award . ” another special “family film award” was awarded to dil vil pyar vyar . the film on the drug abuse menace in punjab “baaz” was honoured as the “film with a social message . ” a special recognition award was also given to harry baweja .
ptc punjabi film awards are truly leading the punjabi film industry . energetic dancers kicked off the show , followed by a performance by nav bajwa and apoorva arora on bollywood punjabi numbers . bobby deol said he was happy to be in punjab , and also announced production of a punjabi film under vijeta productions . the crowds swooned and cheered to scintillating moves and gyrations of the vivacious surveen chawla as she danced to aaaj phir tumpe and disco singh title track . the ceremonial lamp was lit by bobby deol , shinde and narayan . gauhar khan , all set to make her debut in the punjabi film industry , showcased a scintillating performance on a medley of bollywood numbers .
apart from the acting , the cinematography and editing are considerable well done . the movie has a bleached look with a yellowish tinge used effectively to illustrate this bleak period in punjab’s history . the frames , shots , and length of scenes are mostly perfect with the camera lingering just long enough to leave an impact . the music of the film is very strong , especially the songs ‘sawah bann ke’ and ‘ammi udeek di’ . it’s the first time i’ve seen music so well used in a punjabi movie . here it’s not a distraction , but helps further the story forward and acts as a beautiful supplement to help effectively portray the emotions of the characters . overall , i would say that it’s a must watch , even if for the beautiful first half .
the movie then movies to a year and a half later , with kirron kher as the main character of a mother looking for her son . like she says , she used to be worried that he returns home in time , and she still is . the opening credits carry a serene sense of her morose life , her daily routine , as she visits the police station daily , and waits for news about her son . this is of course not a unique or isolated case . it is the story of upheaval in the lives of countless families in punjab during the period of the khalistan movement . it is the true story of thousands of mothers , whose sons went out on a day as ordinary as any , never to be seen or heard from again .
after a decade of insurgency , director manmohan singh brought the audience back to theatres with his romantic tales with a social message . “i started a dialogue between the nris and their families left in punjab . both had little idea about each others’ lives and issues and my film opened a window on them , ” says singh . the trusted cinematographer of yash chopra , brought his mentor’s vision alive in punjabi films with films like “jee aaya nu” , “dil apna punjabi” and “munde u . k . de” . “it is not that good films were not made in punjabi before but they used to be one - off projects where some actors of punjabi origin used to take time out from their bollywood commitments for the sake of giving good cinema to the community , ” says singh referring to films like “chhann pardesi” , which he shot .
after a decade of insurgency , director manmohan singh brought the audience back to theatres with his romantic tales with a social message . | photo credit : 01dfrmann
director anurag singh says the punjabi film industry has found its feet only in the last three - four years . “i had this subject in mind even before “jatt and julliet” but i didn’t have the confidence to tackle the issue . as the people who saw operation bluestar are still alive , i apprehended whether i will be able to do justice to their memories . i didn’t want the film to sound manipulative or get into the politics of the issue . the aim was to humanise the problem and it is the mother and children who suffer the most during any insurgency . ” also , anurag adds , the market was not ripe to fund such a subject . “i had to prove myself in the popular idiom to get funds for a serious subject , ” says the young filmmaker , who delivered two successful instalments of “jatt and julliet” at the box office .