Europe North America Oceania Heer Ranjha[a] (Punjabi: [ɦiɾ ɾaːnd͡ʒ(ʱ)aː]) is a traditional Punjabi folk tragedy with many historic poetic narrations;[1] with the first one penned by Damodar Gulati in 1600s, on the preexisting oral legend; and the most famous one, Heer, written by Waris Shah in 1766, in the form of an epic.

Set in Takht Hazara and Tilla Jogian, it follows the story of love, forced separation, and eventual simultaneous demise of two youths in the Punjabi countryside.

[10][11] Being his father's favourite son, unlike his brothers who have to toil in the lands, he leads a life of ease, playing the flute ('Wanjhli'/'Bansuri').

In Waris Shah's version of the epic, Ranjha leaves home because his brothers' wives refused to serve him food.

[2][12][13] Heer Ranjha is part of the Qissa genre of tragic love stories, along with tales such as Laila Majnu and Sassui Punnhun.

[14] Because its plot involves a romance opposed by family members and ends with the two lovers dying, the story is often compared to the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet.

[15][16] The epic poem has been made into several feature films since 1928:[17] In 2013, the television serial Heer Ranjha, directed by Shahid Zahoor and produced by Yousuf Salahuddin, aired on PTV Home.

Heer Ranjha is a 2020 Indian Punjabi-language period drama television series starring Amaninder Pal Singh and Sara Gurpal in the lead roles.

Alam Lohar is renowned for reciting Heer in various styles and one of the first international folk singers to bring this story in a song format.