The udta in the title of Udta Punjab does not just refer to the momentary ‘highs’ experienced by the characters while on narcotics; it also signifies the optimism that marks the way of life there, irrespective of the circumstance. The film, apart from its portrayal of the drug menace afflicting the adolescents in the State, was one of the rare attempts at portraying authentically the numbed aspirations of the people living there. It did show the green fields, the Pakistan border, the somewhat-broken houses but did not romanticise them. It also showed the real problems like unemployment among youth, the fighting spirit of the people, the desire to fight the drug menace among them,...
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