Is Punjab the only state in north India? Nope. Do all Indians speak fluent Punjabi? Well, thanks to Raj and his ilk, we've come to learn what 'praah', 'soniye' and 'makhna' mean. What is with Bollywood's obsession with the state, considering that so many of its actors don't even come from there?
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"The Indian family shown in movies is generally a north Indian one. What has changed in the last few years is that this family has become specifically Punjabi Hindu (not Sikh)," says Nandini Ramnath, film correspondent, Time Out magazine.
Ramnath adds that since Hindi has been the language of most Mumbai movies, whatever the background of the actor, he or she is made into a generic north Indian character. "Even the very Tamilian Vyjayanthimala or the very Bengali Meena Kumari had to pass off as a north Indian. In recent times, my favourite non-Punjabi pretending to be one is the very Bengali-looking Rani Mukherji," she says.
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Film critic Deepa Gahlot agrees. "After Partition, several of the Punjabi filmmakers moved to India from Lahore. The Chopras, the Sippys, the Kapoors, are all Punjabis. It's obvious that they will make movies about what they know. It's just that earlier, the hero-heroine never had a last name. It was only a Vijay, which vaguely suggested of North Indian roots." Gahlot also feels that the huge NRI market, which thrives on bhangra and Punjabi-infused dialogue, is a factor.
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Trade analyst Vinod Mirani feels that Punjabi is quite close to Hindi. "Also, other states don't have as much of a creative contribution to the industry as much as Punjab does. The Gujarati influence extends to the money and the ownership of studios," he explains. Mirani adds that it is an ongoing trend that will change. "Back in the 1970s and '80s, Bambaiyya Hindi was huge. Now more than Punjabi, Hinglish is the rage."