In 1969, history was written in the Punjabi film industry with the release of Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai. New records were created at the box office, which were never broken. People removed shoes before entering theatres. The film was an unprecedented hit across the globe.

After breaking all box office records, the film went on to win the coveted “National Award” too! Now after 50 years of its release, producers Maann Singh Deep and Kalyani Singh are going to produce a new film under the same title Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai. Before becoming films producers, Maann  and Kalyani were famous journalists.

Talking about his thought behind making this film, Maann said that at a time, when people are spreading hate in the name of religion, caste, language and colour, he wanted to make a film which depicts  compassion, love and true faith in god.

“Whenever I can’t seek solutions for my problems, I go to the Gurudwara to stay calm. I love the shabads recited there. Sikhism preaches love for mankind, irrespective of  religion, caste, language and  colour. “When I read the writings of Guru Nanak Dev ji, I was lost in the magic of Gurbani. Every word was so pure and touching, (The only holy book that has great writings of six gurus and saints of all religions) that I wanted to spread this message of faith and love all across,” said he.

He feels that the best way to spread this message was through a film because he has a deep understanding of it.

“Initially, I discussed the idea with my wife Kalyani Singh who is a writer-director and has avid knowledge of Sikhism. She loved this idea and came out with a beautiful story,” said Maann.

It took them a while to get to this title but they feel that Baba Nanak blessed them with it. They worked on the story till the time they  were convinced that it was  perfect to plan a film. They went on to hire the best people who could execute this task. “We were not looking for the perfect team only from the commercial point of view but we also wanted the team which believed in the spiritual and social teachings of Guru Nanak, fit perfectly to the characters of our story and join us not as professional actors or technicians but as a member of our mission,” he said.

The shooting lasted for 42 days in various parts of Punjab including Golden temple at Amritsar. “I hope this film will be remembered as one of the best   devotional and social films,” he added.