1 week Ago By Mid-day
Can lives change overnight? Paramvir Singh Cheema believes so. The actor, who featured in Tabbar (2021) and Chamak (2023), broke out this January with Black Warrant. He says that ever since Vikramaditya Motwane’s prison drama dropped on Netflix, he has received multiple congratulatory messages from directors and actors.
“I got a message that read, ‘Hi, this is Arjun Kapoor.’ I thought it’s fake. But then, it really was Arjun.
A lot of directors messaged to appreciate my work. I was not expecting this to happen,” he smiles.In the Zahan Kapoor-led series set in the 1980s, Cheema plays a fellow jailer adjusting to his new role while tension brews in his hometown in Punjab.
The actor reveals that he auditioned with the scene that sees him worried about his family in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi’s assassination in 1984. “When I auditioned with that scene, I told Vikram sir, ‘I have to do it. It’s important that the right person plays this role.
’ Hailing from Punjab, I’ve seen families getting separated, or someone leaving home and never coming back. [During the shoot], Vikram sir was happy with the way I portrayed my character’s outburst. I was worried [about a possible backlash] as my family is in Punjab and anything can happen these days.
But then, Vikram sir made the scene so beautiful and human,” he shares. A still from Black WarrantIt’s easy to see that Cheema consciously chooses stories that reflect his roots. “Identity is important to me.
Every role I choose should show my identity.” His upcoming works are testament to that. The actor brings the Punjabi music industry’s underbelly to the fore with Chamak 2, and the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war to the screen with Border 2.
“I gravitate towards stories that bring out Punjab’s reality. People say you need guts to do this. Why do you need guts to speak about your lived-in experience? I want my stories to show the truth of our times.
” He hopes Border 2—starring Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan and Diljit Dosanjh—will be his gateway to mainstream cinema. “The language of cinema is different. In Border 2, you can’t be subtle.
I’ve been a fan of Border [1997]. So, when Border 2 came, I told myself I have to do this, even if it requires passing on something else,” says the actor, who has also bagged an Aanand L Rai film..
