OTT Yearender 2022: Balwinder Singh Janjua creates hit series CAT for Netflix, with potential for a meaty franchise

Set in Punjab, this is one of those rare shows that remains rooted to its core and being mostly in Punjabi instead of Hindi, has found resonance across the globe. By virtue of being a series rather than a film, it also gives actor Randeep Hooda a free reign to unleash his talent to the hilt.

With the show getting unanimously good reviews, CAT has got a thumbs up from audiences too, worldwide. The man currently under spotlight and being lauded for this successful saga of drugs, deceit and vengeance is writer, director and producer Balwinder Singh Janjua, the young creator and director of the hit show.

"Though I am being lauded for how I got the nuances right in my series and that being a Punjabi from the border town of Gurdaspur may have informed my creative process, I think it's the job of a filmmaker to do his homework thoroughly and be an avid student of human life," says Janjua.

With his father being transferred on regular intervals being in the Air Force, Balwinder's tryst with movies started early in his life with weekend forays at special theatres, no matter where his father was posted.

The projector room fascinated the young Balwinder who soon started collecting negatives too. When his father was posted at Pathankot, VHS had taken over cinema halls and he watched even more movies.

In the late 1980s, while growing up on a staple diet of Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt films, the young writer-filmmaker in him started taking shape.

"Today, without arrogance, but with a certain degree of pride, I can proclaim that I am almost an encyclopaedia of cinema. Ask me a question about any music director, lyricist or filmmaker, especially of the 1950s and 1960s, and in all probability, I will be able to give you the right answer. Dare I say, before I became a filmmaker, I was a film aficionado first. I strongly believe the more you watch, the more you read and see, the more you learn. Input is equal to output: this is my eternal motto," says Balwinder Singh Janjua.

Cinema for Balwinder is not a medium of education. Its prime purpose, first and foremost, is to entertain. Yes, within the magic of storytelling, one could pack in a message or two or something of educative value, but not at the cost of entertainment. Who goes to a cinema hall, pays for a ticket to be lectured upon?

His series 'CAT' has been earning accolades for painting a realistic picture of Punjab. But had he failed to engage the viewers, had he not stuck to the tone and tenor of his story, without doubt noone would have been pleased. For Balwinder, cinema is the art of engagement and entertainment.

While pursuing Masters in Economics at Baroda, Internet opened Balwinder up to world cinema. Italian film director Federico Fellini, Japanese Akira Kurosawa and our very own Satyajit Ray were among his favourite directors. Cinema had to be his de facto choice. How much the three-month diploma in filmmaking from Noida helped him he can't say with surety, except that it gave him the confidence to knock doors in Mumbai.

As was the norm of the industry, he worked as an assistant to several top-notch directors and learnt the craft. But one can only imbibe the technique, rest one has to master himself and your voice has to be distinctly individualistic. Real recognition for Balwinder came with writing.

"Today, OTT has given writers a clear edge. But when I started, it wasn't the most glorious job on the earth. Yet, later, I met filmmakers like Tushar Hiranandani, who himself is a noted writer but still reposed faith in my writing abilities. Saand Ki Aankh, for which I wrote the screenplay, won me the best screenplay writer nomination in the same league as writers of Gully Boy and Article 15, indeed an honour," explains Janjua.

Loves writing more

Though he turned to production and direction, Balwinder simply loves to write. Each day, for at least three to four hours, he gather his thoughts and puts these down on paper. "Writing, of course, is as much about thinking as actually putting the pen to paper. Ideas can float any time of the day or night, while travelling, driving, or even on a vacation. I just scribble my thoughts and distance myself for a few days. If after a week, I still find these fascinating, I go ahead, else I simply junk the idea," states Balwinder.

The story of 'CAT' had been on his mind as he feels strongly about the issues, be it insurgency or the drug menace that he has addressed in the series.

"Some people may think that I have painted the police in dark shades. But that is not true. Look at the portrayal of policewoman Babita. In every spectrum of society, there are good and bad people. Common man, too, is not above board. But the police and politicians have a much larger role to play... they are the lawmakers and uphold the law. What they do impacts others. If there was/is no nexus between the politicians and the police, would things have come to such a pass as they did in Punjab? Besides, if everything is good, if all were/are honest, then there would be no conflict, it would be Ram Rajya or Satyug. But, this is Kalyug. At the end of the day, 'CAT'is a fictional story, a human story, told with honesty," says the passionate filmmaker.

Apart from being a cinephile, he has read as vociferously Saadat Hasan Manto, Mahadevi Verma, Rajinder Singh Bedi... the list of his favourite authors is endless, besides Amrita Pritam or Shiv Kumar Batalvi.

"I am particularly fond of poetry, probably that is why Suvinder Vicky's character Sehtab Singh in 'CAT' has a suitable couplet for the most unlikeliest of situations. Of course, each character that you draw has a bit of yourself in him or her. My first audience is myself, too, and I am my best and worst critic. We all should be — that is the best starting point," Janjua says.

Currently working on a film on Partition, when he wasn't even born when the cataclysmic event rocked Punjab, he has heard enough stories and read so much on the subject that when he gets down to capturing the feel, he should be able to do justice to the horrific tragedy.

When asked whether he expected the stupendous response his series has garnered and what success means for him, "I am overwhelmed; success does different things to different people. For me, it's a signal to put my head down and keep at it," signs off the man of the moment Balwinder Singh Janjua!