Bollywood is known to be quite a ruthless industry where not many get a second chance to prove themselves. A string of unsuccessful films can get any actor or filmmaker out of the industry for good. However, destiny favours the ones who continue to be relentless in their efforts towards improving their skills and getting back on their feet even if it takes a while for that to happen. Filmmaker Rohit Jugraj’s journey can be a case study in this regard.
Jugraj, who debuted as a director in 2005, after assisting directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Rahul Dholakia and Ram Gopal Varma, delivered two back-to-back flops in ‘James’ (2005) and ‘Superstar’ (2008). He also worked as a co-writer on the Abbas-Mustan directed ‘Players’ but the film, which was official remake of the Hollywood film ‘The Italian Job’ (), turned out to be damp squib at the box-office. After this, Rohit took a break from the Hindi film industry but not films. He shifted base to Punjab.
The first Punjabi film he is credited with was ‘Best Of Luck. He worked as a creative director on the film and the success of the film gave him the confidence to direct a film in Punjabi. He took the plunge with ‘Jatt James Bond’ and followed it up with films like ‘Sardaar Ji’, ‘Sardaar Ji 2’, ‘Khido Khundi’ – all these films turned out to be major successes establishing him firmly as a director in the Punjabi film industry.
‘Arjun Patiala’, which hits theatres this week, marks his comeback into the Hindi film industry. Though the film’s release has been delayed by almost a year, there are several reasons why one could look forward to the film. The leading man Diljit Dosanjh has delivered a massive success in Punjab with ‘Shadaa’ and the film also unites Kriti Sanon with producer Dinesh Vijan’s Maddock Films; they had delivered a super-hit earlier this year in the form of ‘Luka Chuppi’.
With his comeback Hindi film releasing more than a decade after his last release in Hindi, one hopes it gives him good enough reason to stick around in the Hindi film industry.