Des Hoyaa Pardes (2004)

Set in Punjab in the troubled 1980s, Des Hoyaa Pardes follows a respected rural family whose quiet life is torn apart when one of its sons is drawn into the violence of the time. Caught between militants on one side and heavy-handed police on the other, the family's elder, played by Gurdas Maan, tries to keep his dignity and protect those he loves, while Juhi Chawla and Divya Dutta play the women who bear the cost. The title, "The homeland became a foreign land", sums up its theme of uprooting and loss. Directed by Manoj Punj, the film was one of the more serious Punjabi films of its decade and won the National Film Award for Best Punjabi Film. It also marked a rare Punjabi-language role for Juhi Chawla, who is herself from Punjab.