Kohrra star Suvinder Vicky on stereotypical depiction of Punjab, Sikhs in films: 'Sarson ke khet se aage...' | Exclusive

‘Overnight success’ has come two decades too late for Suvinder Singh Vicky. The Punjabi actor has had starring roles in two mainstream web series, first Cat and now Kohrra, both on Netflix. For the later, Vicky has been showered with a lot of praise as well. The crime thriller, which released last week, stars Vicky as a Punjab cop struggling to balance personal life with work while solving a gruesome crime. In a chat with DNA, the actor speaks about the show, playing cops, and how the depiction of Punjab and Sikhs has changed in Hindi cinema.

Ask him what drew him to this rather dark, macabre drama and Vicky laughs before responding, “There are layers to this character and it is fun to play such a person. I am at that age where your life teaches you a lot and you draw from your experiences wherever it fits the character. When I heard the story, I felt this was similar to me in a lot of ways. That was interesting for me.”

In Cat, his previous show, Vicky had again played a police officer in Punjab, albeit one with more shades of grey (both in hair and character). Does the thought of being typecast not bother him? Vicky replies, “I have reached this place after a lot of struggle so I don’t worry about things like typecasting. I want to work so well that people don’t get a chance to say all this. They should feel that even if both characters have that police uniform in common, they are different people, which they are. One is a protagonist and one an antagonist. And I hope people see that too.”

At 50, Suvinder Vicky is greying. But unlike some of his contemporaries, he isn’t trying to hide those greys. Even the characters he selects are now his age, men in their 50s. Talking about this choice, the actor says, “I am someone who likes to stay prim and proper in my personal life. So if I get the same looks in my roles, where is the fun in that? Then, once you adopt a certain get up, it makes your work easier. As soon as you look at yourself in that uniform in the mirror, you start getting under the skin of that character more easily. So, there was no hesitation from my side there.”

Both Cat and Kohrra are set in Punjab and have characters speaking in Punjabi. Mainstream Indian entertainment has shied away from having too much dialogue in Punjabi in the past. Vicky says the change reflects how the film and TV industries have changed in viewing Punjab as a whole. “This has been due to OTT, at least for me. Earlier, Punjab ko lekar bhi log sarso ke khet se aage badhe nahi kabhi (people didn’t go past the mustard fields). It was all about sarson da saag, makki di roti, bhangra, dhol, and people going balle balle. They never showed much more than this. There is a lot more to Punjab than just this, from the culture to the people and their issues. If the farmer dances in joy, he also kills himself when he loses everything. That part was hardly shown. That depiction of the harsher side needed guts and that OTT has done.”

The actor says the industry has come some way in the representation of Sikhs in media as well, without reducing them to comic relief. “Cinema has grown, even in Punjab,” says Vicky, elaborating, “There was a time when only comedy would work and all Punjabi characters – whether in Punjabi films or Hindi films – were all for comedy. Now, things have changed of late and that too, with limited actors.”

Kohrra, created by Sudip Sharma and directed by Randeep Jha, also stars Barun Sobti, Varun Badola, Manish Chaudhari, Harleen Sethi, and Rachel Shelley. It is currently streaming on Netflix.