Report by Amritbir Kaur
There’s emptiness inside us. It is just to do away with that emptiness and loneliness that one takes to drugs with a view to provide satisfaction to oneself. We all are addicted to one thing or the other; but all that is required is to have an addiction to do something positive. With this line of thought, Satdeep Singh is here with his next Punjabi feature film, ‘Empty Inside’. The film will give you an insight into this problem of drug-addiction. It is about the families that have been ruined because of this problem. When asked how the film is different from a host of other films centered around the problem of drug abuse, The director, Satdeep Singh said that he has made a film not just about the problems but he has also provided a solution. We have tried to provide the solution in spiritual solace and also have tried to present a permanent solution in better family ties.
 |
| Team Empty Inside releasing poster of the Punjabi film |
He has chosen a fresh face, Atvinder Singh from Mohali, Punjab as the protagonist of the film, and the thought behind taking him is that he is a Puran Gursikh; because Satdeep Singh feels that it is the Sikhs, who face a kind of rejection just because of their free-flowing beards or they have to compromise on this aspect to enter mainstream entertainment industry. Among the others, who play the major roles are, Amritpal Singh, Malkit Rauni, Gogi Kohli, Tarun Raj Kundra (the child artist). The music has been given by Immortal Productions.
In the film ‘Empty Inside’, Satdeep has taken up the psychological aspects behind a person being addicted to drugs. What triggers this addiction is the emptiness inside as he believes it all begins from the person himself.
When asked how he would take the message forward to the audience and how he would make this project commercially viable, he had a tale to tell. ‘Be it short movies or my other previous projects, I have been able to carve out a niche for myself. So I have the blessings of God by my side’, said Satdeep. We have had special screenings held in foreign countries, with a view to recover the production cost and also to create a hype about the film so that we are able to promote the film among the Indian audience. He further added that there is a need to create a taste for meaningful cinema. So we have planned special screenings all over India with a view to reach the audience. It is important for the producers to recover their cost. People especially in Punjab are not very responsive to such projects. Hence, we sometimes have to bear all the cost of the screenings. Till now we have held screenings at Amritsar, Delhi, Surat, Australia, USA and Canada.
 |
| Film director Satdeep Singh |
The film has been produced by Kick Drugs Inc. (Australia). Empty Inside’s running time is 1 hour 40 mins and it has been written, edited and directed by Satdeep Singh. According to the Director, what attracts the audience is the star-value. Talking about ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ he said that the film too is meaningful cinema but look at the kind of success it enjoyed! With a dream to enjoy the kind of success enjoyed by Iranian cinema or the Chinese cinema Satdeep Singh takes a leap forward after five of his earlier award-winning short movies – ‘Born to Lead’, ‘Five Folds’, ‘Taaj’, ‘Blind Journey’ and one on ‘Gurmat Sangeet Legend – Prof. Kartar Singh Ji’.
Vigaas foundation, which is a non-profit, non-government charitable organization, has now scheduled the next screening at Guru Nanak Bhawan, Ludhiana.
What remains to be seen is as to how far he is able to penetrate the message at the grassroot level in the general public, where it is required the most. We have a huge percentage of the youngsters in Punjab, who have wasted away their lives due to drug addiction. A lot many families have been ruined. It is in Punjab that we have a huge percentage of entertainment tax being levied by the government. But at the same time, penetrating into the rural area with the message contained in the film, is in itself a momentous task.
Leave a Reply