Punjabi singer-actor Parmish Verma's web show Kanneda was airing on 21st March 2025 on JioHotstar. The series is claimed to be inspired by the life of a Punjabi migrant who has to flee due to the ill-fated anti-Sikh carnage of 1984 and seek refuge in Canada. The series is located in Toronto in the 1990s and documents his fight against racism, loneliness, and aspirations, which thrusts him into the unsafe arena of crime cartels.
Though the show has generated a buzz among the audience, there has been a real quest to find out if the character Ranjit Bajwa played in the show is inspired by some real individual or not.
Ranvir Shorey as Ranjit Bajwa is the crime lord head and Godfather to the Punjabi community in the web series Kanneda. Ranjit has complete control over legal and illegal enterprises, the quintessentially entrenched power dynamics that have a propensity to develop within immigrant groups, where individuals try to be the controlling lot as security and good fortune. His handling of characters like Nimma and Sarabjeet is true to the intricate dance of power and the constantly blurred line between protector and exploiter.
Ranjit Bajwa, the Kanneda series character, is entirely fictional and draws no parallel with any real-life person. Although the web series is inspired by real events, the lives of Punjabi migrants in Canada, there is no direct indication that Ranjit Bajwa is a fictionalized representation of a real person. His character encapsulates the struggles and power relations within the migrant community residing in Canada.
Coincidentally, the name 'Ranjit Bajwa' bears a striking resemblance to that of well-known Punjabi singer and actor Ranjit Bawa, but they have no connection whatsoever. The coincidence is fortuitous, and the character has no connection whatsoever to the life and experiences of the singer.
Briefly, Ranjit Bajwa in Kanneda is a fictional character created to explore deeper social problems in the story.