Before Chaali Din became one of the year’s most talked-about Punjabi films, it was a book — one that quietly worked its way into readers’ hearts long before a camera ever rolled. In this episode of the Barkat Podcast, Rasna Kaur sits down with the man behind that book, Gurpreet Dhugga, for a conversation that goes far beyond a typical author interview.
The Man Behind the Novel
Gurpreet Dhugga isn’t a career novelist in the conventional sense — he’s a California-based physician who, alongside a demanding medical career, wrote a story that has since become a best-selling Punjabi novel and now a major film. That dual life — of science and spirit, precision and reflection — shapes the way he thinks and speaks about Chaali Din, and it’s part of what makes this conversation with Rasna Kaur so compelling.
A Story Built on Bigger Questions
At its heart, Chaali Din (40 Days) follows two central characters through a 40-day journey shaped by faith, loss, and self-discovery — but as Dhugga makes clear in this conversation, the novel was never really about plot alone. It was written as a doorway into bigger, harder questions: What gives life meaning? How do we make sense of faith when we’re tested by loss? What do we owe to the people who guide us, and what do we owe ourselves? These are the ideas Rasna Kaur draws out across the episode, moving past the surface of the story and into the philosophy that shaped it.
From Page to Screen
With Chaali Din now adapted into a feature film directed by Tarnvir Singh Jagpal, this episode offers something particularly valuable for readers and viewers alike — a chance to hear, in the author’s own words, what he hoped would survive the journey from novel to screen, and which questions he most wanted audiences to sit with long after the credits roll.
Why This Conversation Matters
In an industry often driven by spectacle, Chaali Din’s success — as a novel first, and now as a film — says something about what audiences are hungry for: stories that slow down, that ask real questions, and that trust readers and viewers to sit with discomfort rather than resolve it too quickly. Hearing that philosophy from the person who first put it to paper adds a layer of depth that’s easy to miss once a story moves to the big screen.
Watch the Full Episode
Join Rasna Kaur and Gurpreet Dhugga for this reflective conversation on the ideas, faith, and human questions behind Chaali Din — only on the Barkat Podcast.or the Barkat Podcast.