Critics have praised Punjabi film "Chauthi Koot" (The Fourth Direction), which has been adapted from two short stories written by Waryam Singh Sandhu called Chauthi Koot and Hun Main Theek Haan.
The film features Suvinder Vicky, Rajbir Kaur, Harleen Kaur, Taranjit Singh, Kanwaljit Singh, Harnek Aulakh, Nakul Vermani and Gurpreet Bhangu in pivotal roles.
Directed by Gurvinder Singh, "Chauthi Koot" is set during the Sikh separatist movement during the 1980s. The film, which received critical acclaim worldwide, released in India on Aug. 5 with rave reviews. Bollywood critics have praised the film and called it a masterpiece.
Not only praise, the film also won several awards in India and at international film festivals. The film won the best film award at MAMI last year and this year it won the National Award for the best feature in Punjabi language.
Read below what critics have said about Punjabi film "Chauthi Koot."
Stutee Ghosh of the Quint said: "The unhurried pace will need some getting used to but if you want to explore the cinematic universe beyond Bollywood's typical pomp and show, this Punjabi film with English subtitles should be your pick."
Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times said: "This is a crafty move on the director's part, as it translates facts into a humane narrative without giving much room for prejudice. Hope rears its head when needed the most. The humanitarian perspective is the movie's biggest win."
Kunal Guha of Mumbai Mirror said: "Gurvinder Singh deserves full marks for this National Award winner. He narrates a simple story which says a lot more than it literally does.
"Cinematographer Satya Rai Nagpaul's aesthetic frames lend the film an artistic flair without drawing attention away from the subject in focus."
Gayatri Gauri of Firstpost said: "The irony of the situation is brilliantly captured in a long moment of a bowl of food being licked away hungrily by a dog who is the object of all attention and suddenly the cause of everyone's trouble."
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV said: "In speaking up for a hapless populace that lived through Punjab's purgatory, Chauthi Koot helps Punjabi cinema take a leap that is probably even more significant and daring than the one that Gurvinder Singh's debut film represented."
Shubhra Gupta of the Indian Express said: "The narrative of this Gurvinder Singh film unfolds unhurriedly and still you do not stir from your seats. You watch with a growing sense of dread, praying for safety of innocents in the frame, both two and four-legged."
Arnab Banerjee of Deccan Chronicle said: "Chauthi Koot is the kind of film that comes once in a while, and therefore, is a must-watch!"
