At the risk of sounding crass, I have to say that I have “Punjabiyat” coming out of every orifice. It’s probably one of the half-a-dozen reasons why Karan Johar’s Jug Jugg Jeeyo (JJJ) is not exactly balle balle at the box office.

While there’s been much talk lately of “Islamisation” and “Urduisation” of Hindi cinema, “Punjabisation” must be mentioned too. The Kapoors, Kumars and Khannas had to give way to a more inclusive galaxy, when different-looking actors like Mithun Chakraborty, Suniel Shetty and Shatrughan Sinha came in and tried to popularise other surnames.

But over many decades, the Punjab lobby of filmmakers led by the Chopras and Johars has succeeded in making viewers believe that dutiful Indian wives observe Karwa Chauth, deck up in bridal red, glimpse the moon through a sieve and touch their husbands’ feet before breaking a day-long fast, as if one robust region alone represents Indian culture. The brilliantly directed Karwa Chauth scene reinforced the Kajol-Shah Rukh Khan romance in DDLJ. The colourful mix of energy and sentiments in “Bole chudiyan” in K3G further popularised the festival.

There was an entire sequence of Jaya Bachchan breaking down while describing the rituals to Hrithik over the phone. The instances are many. Karisma Kapoor fasted for Salman Khan in Biwi No. 1. Juhi Chawla with the ubiquitous moon and sieve in Yes Boss melted SRK’s heart. SRK must be the husband who’s had the maximum heroines fasting on Karwa Chauth.

But it’s time to call it out. Not all Indians observe Karwa Chauth or down bhang and smear everybody with colour on Holi, have roka and sangeet ceremonies or serve parathas at the table. To return to JJJ, overt Punjabiness contributed to the weariness of the audience. Which in turn threw up an incredible truth about the first half of 2022. Whether the announcement of Eknath Shinde as CM with Devendra Fadnavis as deputy or the Hindi box office,

“Kahani mein twist” has been the ruling flavour. This time last year, Kartik Aaryan had been written off after he parted ways with Karan Johar over Dostana 2.

Today, he has the rare distinction of being the only Hindi film hero with a blockbuster in the January-June business report. His Bhool Bhulaiya 2 got a thumping opening and went on to register dizzy numbers, crossing Rs 185 crore.

On the other hand, Amitabh Bachchan’s Jhund, Akshay Kumar’s Bachchan Pandey and Samrat Prithviraj, Shahid Kapoor’s Jersey, Ranveer Singh’s Jayeshbhai Jordaar, John Abraham’s Attack, Ajay Devgn’s Runway 34, Tiger Shroff’s Heropanti 2, Aayushmann Khurrana’s Anek and Varun Dhawan’s JJJ had anaemic openings.

The far more expensive JJJ came a month after BB2 and crashed by 50 per cent by Monday.

So guess who’s having the last laugh today? But even when he’s experiencing a professional high, Kartik is a cautious 31-year-old who has never put out his version of l’affaire Dostana.“I believe in letting my work talk,” he stated, keeping his finger on the lip in the future too.

Dressed in jeans and jersey and with the kind of spring in his step only success of this magnitude can give, he practically danced into a meet-and-greet media evening last week. Zoomed in would be appropriate too since he arrived in his swank new Rs 3.72- crore McLaren GT, the only one on Indian roads right now, a congratulatory gift from BB2 producer Bhushan Kumar.

Kartik revels in his new wave of success, laughs a lot all evening and is out to savour every moment of it.

“It’s too hard to earn this,” he remarked, “but I’m making sure I relish every moment of it in my own way. Like watch movies, meet friends, go for a drive in my new car. “It’s my dream car,” he exulted. “My sister Kitu is coming to study medicine. I’m excited about taking her for a drive.” In keeping with the kahani mein twist flavour, Kartik’s not only on top, he’s also the only one up there at mid-point of 2022.

Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and author