Ammtoje Mann

Ammtoje (or Amitoj) Mann (Punjabi: ਅਮ੍ਮ੍ਤੋਜੇ "ਅਮਿਤੋਜ" ਮਾਨ) is a Punjabi actor, director, author, and screenwriter. He made two films: Kaafila based on the concept of illegal immigration and Hawayein, based on the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination. Hawayein was well received, however Mann was less successful with Kaafila, which was banned in Pakistan due to the film's perceived anti-Pakistan material.

Combining a literary and film background, his father, Babu Singh Mann is a poet and lyricist in Punjab, has also produced a number of Punjabi films and along with several other awards, he has also received five lifetime achievement awards. Amitoj worked with Nadira Babbar's theatre group "EKJUT" and gained experience doing a number of stage plays thus evolving into becoming an actor and honing his creative talents as a director and writer too.

In 1992, Dilip Kumar, signed Amitoj as the hero for his directorial debut film Kalinga opposite Meenakshi Seshadri. However, the film could not be released due to unforeseen circumstances. Amitoj turned his vision from enacting dreams to creating dreams for the silver screen.

After directing more than 20 music video albums and winning awards for them, he wrote and directed a Hindi film titled Hawayein. This film emerges from the consequences of the Blue Star Operation in 1984 and thereon depicts the heart-rending aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination in 1984 leading to the riots and the victimization of Punjab and her people, the consequences of which were experienced all over India. This film was an honest exploration of the reasons which led to the angst of the youth of Punjab and the turmoils suffered by their families. It was the first of its kind subjects to be made and is the only celluloid depiction of this dark chapter of Indian history and depicts real life events and most of the situations shown in this film are authentic. This was an attempt to present history in a realistic manner on a colourful tapestry woven with all human emotions of romance, tragedy, humour all presented together on a platter of wonderful music. Shot in locations in Punjab, Delhi and Mumbai, Hawayein was a statement, which has succeeded in correcting the global image of the Sikh participation in the post 1984 Punjab problem thus satisfying the souls of lakhs of Sikhs, who for centuries have lived in perfect harmony with Hindus and all other communities all over the world. It released in August 2003 and was critically acclaimed worldwide. It was well received in India and did extremely well in the international market too. Hawayein opened up the territory of Canada for Hindi films, a territory which was previously considered a non performing territory for Hindi films and created box office history in Canada with record breaking collections. Hawayein also created history in Punjab.

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