The sounds of Dhol reverberated the Westfield in Parramatta heralding the premier of Punjabi film Virsa at the Events theatre 7 on Sunday 2 May 2010. A procession led by lead actor of the film Aaryan Babbar and well known DJ and Music Director Bally Saggoo.

The film was shot entirely in Australia and mostly in Sydney. Other actors in the film include Gulshan Grover, Aman and Kanwaljit Singh.

In his speech, Aaryan said “the movie is special for me” as it had brought luck to him. His father, veteran actor and politician Raj Babbar dissuaded him to do a Punjabi film so early in his career but somehow Aaryan felt the director Pankaj Batra was full of passion about the strong script and wanted to go ahead. He said after Virsa he had landed so many other projects and now he is very busy. Virsa, he said is very close to his heart since it happened when he had no work at all and now he is most sought after.

To a question, given the tension in Indo-Pak relations, this movie deals with two families from India and Pakistan, he said the beauty of the film is that there is no mention of animosity or tension between the two nations. It’s all about friendship and love between the people of the two countries, he said.

Asked about the role his father played in Insaaf ka Tarazoo, Aaryan quipped you will see many such insaaf ka  tarazoo in this film.

The effort must not stop; come what may (“silsila jaari rahe” as the former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee once said). There may be borders and barriers in the way, there may be barricades and boulders in the hearts and minds of some people in India and Pakistan, but any effort to bring the people of the two unfortunate countries together, to have a meeting of minds and building of bonds and relations that will last forever must be encouraged, specially brave, courageous efforts made by a group of young and talented men and women from both countries, an effort led by a renowned cancer specialist Dr. Amanullah Khan, the presenter of “Virsa”, One World Entertainment, man who loves life, who loves poetry, who loves cinema and waits for the day when the leaders and people of both countries put their “Wize Mindz” together and stand shoulder to shoulder and meet heart to heart to break all shackles and stand firm as one people in one world.

 There is a constant gallant effort being made on all fronts- and may they all succeed. The making of a Punjabi film, “Virsa” by some of the best talents from both India and Pakistan is one of them. Team India is led by three young men, Vikram Khakhar and his partners, Aman Mahajan (his name means Peace),Yash Desai  and Dinesh Maghudia.Team Australia  is led by Yash Desai with Sanjay Patel and Vishal.   Team Pakistan is led by Dr. Amanullah Khan and the well known music director, producer and composer from Pakistan, Jawad Ahmad, actor Naumaan Ijaz (best known in India for his work in the most talked about Pakistani theatre and cultural circles in recent times) and the leading lady of the film Mehreen Raheal. The leading Indian actors who are playing all the prominent roles are Aarya Babbar and Gulshan Grover who are working in a Punjabi film for the first time, together with Kanwaljit Singh, Aman Dhaliwal and Aparna Sharma. And besides these prominent names there are a number of technicians and experts not only from both India and Pakistan but also from Australia and USA who have joined hands in making the film. Line Produced by Filmology Which  included Paresh Lulla and Yash Desai.

 The film, “Virsa” is one of the first Punjabi films which has almost entirely been shot in Australia (before the ongoing ugly attacks being made on Indians by Australians and when Australians went out of their way to help the team of “Virsa” with all the support in the making of the film any where in Australia with all the facilities needed and all the financial support the team needed to shoot their film without thinking of the budget or making any compromises)

 The idea of making “Virsa” on a ambitious scale and with the kind of passion to give Punjabi audiences the kind of film they had never seen before first took shape in the minds of the young group headed by Vikram Khakhar. They wanted to make a film which would be very different from all the films made in Punjabi so far. Says Vikram, one of the major “Wize Mindz”, we were a group of young people brimming with all kinds of ideas. We could have made a film like any other Punjabi film or go in for some thing very different, some thing to keep in the race many other young people are running, God bless them all. But, we wanted to make a film that would reach out and send a very strong message without any preaching or sermonizing. We put our minds together and planned to make a film which would be a blend of all the elements of entertainment and with a dash of enlightenment. We decided that we would not make any compromises and yet keep with the changing trends of filmmaking in all the major filmmaking countries in the world. We also decided to have the best when it came to both human and technical excellence and what the film has finally shaped up to be is a result of our hard work and honesty to make a film that could face the competition and the challenges of the different kinds of films being made all over. We are now waiting for the final judgment which is always the judgment of the people”.

 The film is a modern film in every way but makes an all out effort to excel in every field. We have a capable director (Pankaj Batra), a music director (Jawad Ahmad), the singers (Rahat Fateh Ali Khan), Jawad Ahmad himself , Krishna and Richa Sharma)  and the cinematographer (R.A.Krishnaa, also known as Krishnaa Ramannan who has recently done the cinematography of “Quick Gun Murugan” and all the major films made by the Maans, Gurdass Maan and Manjeet Maan, the latest being “Sukhmani-hope of life”, due for release on February 12. The subject of the film, the music, the true to life performances and the way the soul, heart and mind of the film has been captured on celluloid gives a very genuine feeling of seeing the majestic and mesmerizing mountains calling all the time, waiting for their people to return home, to come back to where they belong, back to their roots.

 The film was shot in Australia because it was the need of the script and the authorities gave the unit all the co-operation the unit needed and so did the people. “I am shocked to think that these are the very people who are now attacking Indians and harming them for reasons which neither me nor any one else can understand,’ Vikram says.``````````````````````````````````

 “Virsa” is a courageous effort to make Punjabis aware of their traditions, their customs, their values and the pride of their Punjabiyat. It is a major effort to make people come alive to their basic foundation, it is an effort to enlighten, to enrich, to elevate and even an attempt to make every heart churn, every soul stir and every mind work in a “wize” way to find their way back home which is like no other place in the world. It is also a major effort at building Indo-Pak relation which because of certain vested interests is being assaulted all the time and causing wounds which are not being healed and which if not treated soon will fester and turn into gangrene. “Virsa” is also an attempt to heal those wounds at a time when there are many others who are fighting their own “wars’ to bring about peace. “Virsa” is wholesome entertainment with a major mission, to wake up people, to make them proud of their heritage and to make themselves proud of what they are, one brave attempt which needs the maximum encouragement by every Indian, Pakistani and every human being in a world threatened by various kinds of known and unknown enemies. “Virsa” is a beautiful attempt to save love and peace among human beings which is shockingly going out of our world. “Virsa” is a way to save the world if it has to be saved.

 The ever so energetic Vikram Khakhar says this is only the beginning for Wize Mindz. The company plans to make a number of ambitious films for which it has already signed directors who have made a name for themselves and are negotiating with various artists. The aim is to keep going and keeping with the times because that is the only way to survive and succeed in a world where competition is the challenge and success the only thing that matters