OLLO Music : Much beyond your average Jugni’s and Billo’s (with streaming teasers)

There are so many reference points for ‘Punjabi’ in films. You tend to go about it stereotypically. Dhaba. Butter Chicken. Lassi. Aloo da paratha. Truck drivers. Jalandhar. Patiala. Phagwada. And so on.

The question is, what defines it? The culture, the language, the mannerisms, the way of life… and the music and dance that finds itself in an exhortation of life. We have seen umpteen films on Punjabi culture, mostly taking Punjabi as a fallback and moving on with whatever story they got, with a modest dose of naach-gaana, bhangra et al. sometimes the film goes awry and the director thinks ‘Punjabi!’ and lo and behold you get yourself a dhamaka item number. Universally acceptable oft-pointless song and dance. Oye balle oye. Bhangra paao ji paaji, giddha paao ni kudiyon.

Let’s take the discussion further. Punjabi pop. Daler Mehndi. Malkit Singh. London Brigade. You think of the words Billo, Jugni, …


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