Development

Amrinder Gill and Amberdeep Singh began working on Angrej immediately after the completion of their previous production, the 2014 comedy film Goreyan Nu Daffa Karo.^[2] Singh wrote the screenplay and dialogue for the film; he said that idea of an Indian wedding in the pre-partitioned Punjab is what inspired him to write the script. He wanted the film to represent "the culture, the food, the joy" for the contemporary audience.^[3] Gill, who also starred in the film described it as a love story set in rural Punjab of 1945, one that "silently introduces the traditional Punjabi culture and lifestyle" and is "packed with high doses of comedy".^[4][5] Simerjit Singh was later hired to direct the film.^[6] In an interview with the Punjab News Express, he said that the film's title, Angrej, which roughly translates to "Englishman" was used by the people of British Punjab to label someone whose "thoughts were ahead of their times".^[3]

Sargun Mehta (pictured 2017) made her feature film debut with Angrej.

Gill said that it was a challenging task to find the right actresses to play Maado and Dhan Kaur. Aditi Sharma and debutante Sargun Mehta, who according to Gill suited the characters "unbelievably well", were eventually cast in the roles after a lengthy auditioning process and multiple screen tests.^[2] Sharma said that she always wanted to work in a Punjabi film and was attracted to Angrej's script and its "old world charm".^[7] Mehta, who made her feature film debut was offered the role by Amberdeep Singh. The duo had previously worked together on the reality show Comedy Circus.^[8] Comedian Binnu Dhillon, Punjabi singer Ammy Virk, Anita Devgan, Sardar Sohi, and Nirmal Rishi play supporting roles in the films.^[4][9] Virk said that he was keen on doing the film as the role of Hakkam resembled him in real life.^[2][10] To prepare for their respective roles, the cast met various people who had been residents of Punjab in the 1940s; Gill also read books and watched documentaries about Punjabi culture and the use of language.^[5]

Filming and post-production

Principal photography for Angrej took place in rural Punjab and Rajasthan; Navneet Misser served as the film's cinematographer.^[11][12] The scenes of the village locale were shot at Suratgarh, a remote town close to the border of the two states as the production team wanted to "depict life sans electric poles, mobile towers and modern-day lifestyle".^[7] Production designer Raashid Rangrez said that the producers chose Rajasthan over Punjab as the semi-arid terrain of the region was better representative of Punjab prior to the green revolution; he added that for an "authentic 1945 setup, we had to be connected with earthy look". He paid particular attention to landscaping, with the production team constructing their own sets on the various shooting locations.^[13] The cast and crew had also collected such property as period utensils prior to commencement of filming.^[2]

Costumes, which included Punjabi wedding attire, were made of khadi handloom fabric. The cloth was brought from Banaras, Bikaner, and Jalandhar. Rangrez and his team of designers, which included Manmeet Bindra, used white cloth for creating the costumes and dyed them later: "emotions matter more and emotions are connected deeply with colors. So [we] wanted to create colors on our own".^[13] Filming for the production was done in a single schedule that lasted for around 40 days.^[12] Angrej was edited by Omkarnath Bhakri and its final cut ran for a total of 136 minutes.^[14][15] The film was produced by Aman Khatkar Productions and Arsara Films in collaboration with Dara Productions, J Studios, and Rhythm Boyz Entertainment.^[12] The international distribution rights for the project were acquired by the London-based production and distribution house, Filmonix.^[16]

Box office

Angrej was released theatrically on 31 July 2015.^[6] It collected an approximate total of ₹11.5 million (US$140,000) on its opening day, making it the third highest opening day collection for a Punjabi film in the region and fourth highest in India. The production was expected to do well in Punjab when compared to other releases including the mystery thriller Drishyam.^[23] The numbers grew over the next two days and the film went on to collect around ₹40.5 million (US$510,000) in its opening weekend.^[24] Angrej also released internationally in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand collecting a total of ₹125 million (US$1.6 million) overall.^[25] The film grossed a total of ₹307 million (US$3.8 million) in its theatrical run,^[26] making it one of the highest grossing Punjabi films of all time.^[1]

Critical response

Jasmine Singh of The Tribune praised most aspects of the production. She described it as a period love story "sewn together with precision [...] Ruh ton! (right from the soul)". She wrote that the film establishes a rapport with the audience and there is not a single drab moment. Singh also positively reviewed the film's dialogue, narrative, and direction, adding that Amberdeep Singh "ensures you laugh [and] cry like a child and fall in love like you have just turned a child!".^[4] Others also ascribed the film's appeal to its flawless screenplay and "beautifully worded" dialogue and credited Amberdeep for creating a "masterpiece".^[27]

Angrej was also praised for its production design and described as "one of the rare Punjabi films, in which the art department had worked really hard on recreating an era in which this film is set [...] by taking care of minute details".^[28] Reacting positively to the Misser's camera work, Amritbir Kaur wrote that the exotic locale and sceneries have been used so charmingly that "they are in such close proximity of the main fabric of the film".^[27] Commentators were also appreciative of the film's use of humour, which finds a "meaningful place"^[4] in the film's narrative and "[is] so natural and spontaneous that nowhere one is forced to laugh".^[27]

The performances of the majority cast were also well received. Critics noted Gill's positive transition from a singer to an actor; Singh wrote that while Gill might not "evoke laughter from loud dialogues, but his innocent face and dialogue delivery will leave you in splits".^[4] Observers were also unanimous in their praise for Dhillion's natural acting skills and his comic abilities. Both Kaur and Singh lauded Mehta and Sharma for their performances in their debut roles, Kaur favoured Mehta for her spontaneity.^[4][27] Singh also noted that Angrej went beyond the generic hero-centric premise: "every single character fits the bill". She was particularly impressed by Devgan's "loveable and absolutely fantastic" and Sohi's "brilliant" performances.^[4]