Udta Punjab isn’t just a film about drug abuse—it is a haunting portrayal of how addiction seeps into the lives of its victims and their relationships. Through the character of Tejinder “Tommy” Singh, a popular Punjabi pop singer, the film talks about how substance dependence doesn’t just destroy the user—it corrodes trust, isolates affection, and turns meaningful connections into collateral damage.
Tommy, better known as “Gabru” to his fans, is a charismatic, successful artist riding high on fame and drugs. He is adored for his rebellious persona, his provocative lyrics, and his unapologetic indulgence. But beneath the glamour lies an emotionally bankrupt young man, whose relationships suffer as he spirals deeper into addiction.
One of the earliest signs of Tommy's relational breakdown is his inability to maintain emotional intimacy. As the pressure to produce new music mounts and his drug use intensifies, Tommy lashes out at his producer and pushes away his girlfriend—the one person trying to offer him a reality check. In a moment of rage and denial, he chooses intoxication over vulnerability, destroying the relationship in the process.
This encapsulates a truth that families of addicts know all too well: addiction doesn’t allow room for emotional presence. It turns love into resistance, concern into interference. Those who care, become obstacles. And in the addict’s altered reality, withdrawal from drugs becomes less painful than facing genuine human connection.
Addiction’s Ripple Effect
Perhaps the most chilling moment in Tommy’s journey is when he meets two of his fans in jail, teenagers who murdered their own mother for denying them money for drugs. They look at Tommy with awe, calling him their inspiration when in fact this isn’t admiration; it’s a perverse kind of worship. And Tommy, for the first time, sees how his glorified lifestyle has destroyed someone else’s family. The encounter forces a crack in his self-image. Addiction didn’t just isolate him from those he loved; it created a false sense of connection with strangers who admired his worst impulses.
Emotional Disconnect and the Illusion of Control
What makes Tommy’s portrayal particularly poignant is his belief that his creativity, charisma, and confidence stem solely from substance use. He’s not just physically dependent—he’s emotionally reliant on the high to feel like “himself”.
But the irony is, the more he leans into drugs, the more disconnected he becomes from his own emotions and the people around him. In moments of silence, between the concerts and the chaos, he’s left with an overwhelming sense of loneliness. Fame surrounds him, but no meaningful relationship survives his addiction. Friends either become enablers of his addiction or adversaries against his addiction. Family becomes irrelevant, and love becomes impossible.
From Collapse to Connection: A Glimpse of Redemption
The real emotional turning point in Tommy’s arc is not when he gets arrested or loses his music contract—it’s when he meets Bauria, a young migrant girl who has suffered the horrors of drug abuse firsthand. Her pain, raw and unfiltered, holds up a mirror to his own actions. But unlike earlier moments of self-pity, this encounter sparks genuine remorse.
For the first time, Tommy listens—not as a pop star, not as an addict, but as a human. This fragile connection is built neither on fame nor on addiction, but on shared pain and empathy. Helping Bauria escape her captors becomes more than an act of heroism, it serves as his attempt to rebuild a broken relationship with the world. It’s his way of giving back something meaningful, after taking so much.
Addiction Isn’t Solitary—It’s Contagious
Udta Punjab doesn’t glamorize addiction. It shows us its emotional fallout; the way it isolates the addict, severs ties with loved ones, and twists admiration into blind allegiance. Through Tommy’s journey, we see that addiction can also be looked at as a relational crisis. It affects everyone in the addict’s orbit. It tests patience, distorts love, and leaves scars that are invisible but often deep.
Despite portraying falling out of relations, the film also offers hope. In recognizing the harm he caused and in choosing connection over chaos, Tommy shows that healing, although messy, is possible. But this is possible only when the addict begins to see their relationships not as threats to their freedom, but as anchors to their humanity.
Written by: Adamaya Singh (ADT24SVSB0006) and Abhinav Swaminathan (ADT24SVSB0005)
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