‘Cannot accept Sunny Deol as a Muslim’: Shabana Azmi on Batwara 1947 box office failure
Here's the latest box office buzz making the rounds:
Sunny Deol -starrer Batwara 1947 was among the most anticipated films of the year, but the movie wasn't wholeheartedly accepted by the audience, with its underwhelming ticket-window performance serving as proof. Of late, Shabana Azmi spoke about the movie's subpar performance and suggested that one possible reason could be that the audience wasn't able to accept Sunny Deol playing a Muslim character.
Adding to this, Sunny Deol in a still from Batwara 1947. ‘Cannot accept Sunny Deol as a Muslim’ Shabana Azmi, who plays a pivotal role in the movie, told Zoom, “The thing is that you cannot accept Sunny Deol as a Muslim. In Coolie and in many other films, Amitabh Bachchan very comfortably played Muslim characters. In Deewaar, he put 786 and that was accepted. So how do we understand this? Are they creating an environment where such decisions are being taken on purpose? I am not able to understand. I am surprised at how people are reacting to it. Even the ones who have watched the movie think Sunny Deol is playing a Pakistani. He is not. It is simply not registering in their heads."
Meanwhile, Shabana argued that the movie is not politically incorrect in any way and shared that audiences may be finding it difficult to accept a Partition story that does not fit the familiar narrative. She shared, "The problem is that you cannot touch the subject of Hindustan and Pakistan in this setup, which is very disappointing. This is a movie which is politically not incorrect in any way. You can’t find fault with it. Sunny has done a very good job. It is very surprising and also contradictory that when I meet people, why are they praising the movie so much?" the star concluded.
Notably, The movie sees Sunny Deol play the character of Sikandar Mirza, a patriotic businessman from Meerut, who is forced to flee to Pakistan with his wife Hamida (Preity Zinta) and their children after facing targeted riots. After staying in a refugee camp in Lahore, they are allotted a haveli as their new home, where they hope to restart their lives.
As per the latest buzz, There, they find an elderly Hindu woman named Mai (Shabana Azmi) still living in a room upstairs. Mai refuses to leave her home because she is waiting for her lost son to return. As Mirza's family develops a bond with Mai, it becomes his mission to protect her from local extremist elements.
In further updates, Batwara 1947 is directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and produced by Aamir Khan Productions.
On top of that, Vibha Maru is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Entertainment, based in Delhi. With a decade of experience across digital and print media, she covers Bollywood, Hollywood and web shows. A self-confessed cinephile who breathes Hindi cinema, Vibha can often be found sacrificing sleep after binge-watching films and web series. Though she holds a Commerce degree, she discovered her true calling in journalism after enrolling at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC). She began her career covering Delhi's cultural scene, food, nightlife, concerts, and city life at The Times of India, before moving into full-time entertainment journalism with India Today. At India Today, Vibha interviewed some of the biggest names in Bollywood and television while carving a niche for herself through movie reviews, opinion pieces, nostalgic features, star interviews, and trend-driven stories. She later brought her storytelling and editorial expertise to The Indian Express, where she continued to deepen her understanding of cinema through long-form entertainment explainers, retrospectives and feature writing. Now, as Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times Entertainment, Vibha continues to chronicle the world of movies and pop culture. Her work spans breaking entertainment news, exclusive interviews, star features, and stories that capture the conversations shaping Indian cinema. Read More
Source: Hindustan Times