Filmfare is one of the biggest platforms for artists to showcase their work. While Hindi cinema has been a part of the Filmfare Awards for over six decades, the reputed film magazine has ventured into many other film industries as they saw more talents.
The film awards are already taking place in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali industries. It has now been announced that Filmfare will organise a separate awards show, Jio Filmfare Awards (Punjabi) 2017, to honour the contributions of artists from the Punjabi film industry.
The official announcement was made by Filmfare editor Jitesh Pillaai at a press conference on March 15. The event took place in Chandigarh. The film magazine editor was accompanied by Punjabi film actor Jimmy Shergill and TPS Walia (State Head - Punjab, Reliance Jio Infocom).
The grand ceremony is scheduled to take place in Chandigarh on March 31.
Fun times with @jimmysheirgill at the #JioFilmfareAwards Punjab press con in #Chandigarh. Till we meet again ?❤? pic.twitter.com/op1Vw9JwOt
— J (@jiteshpillaai) March 16, 2017
This is a big boost for the Punjabi industry. The film industry already has an awards platform, PTC Punjabi Film Awards which has been honouring Punjabi actors and film-makers. But with Filmfare stepping into the regional cinema, a new wave of producers and film-makers venturing into the industry could be expected. This move by Filmfare will also pave way for more talent recognition.
There is no doubt that the Punjabi film industry has some great hidden talents that spring up time and again. While Jimmy Shergill is a known treasure, names like Diljit Dosanjh, Gippy Grewal, Neeru Bajwa, Binnu Dhillon, Amrinder Gill and many others have time and again featured in Hindi films. But a platform like Filmfare will help them reach greater audience.
Details about the nominations have not been revealed yet. However, movies like Vaishaki List, Ambarsariya, Sardaarji 2 and Channo Kamli Yaar Di among many others stand a chance to win a nomination.
The Filmfare event will take place on March 31 at the Multipurpose Sports Stadium in Mohali. The title sponsor for the awards is Jio and the broadcast partner is MH ONE.