Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Shabana Azmi has said the weak box-office run of Batwara 1947 may have been shaped by audiences being unable to accept Sunny Deol as a Muslim character. The film, released on August 14, has earned Rs 53.96 crore so far, while Emraan Hashmi’s Awarapan 2, which opened on the same day, has crossed the Rs 200 crore mark.
The 75-year-old said she has been surprised by the contrast between the praise she has heard for the film and its theatrical performance. Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, backed by Aamir Khan, and starring Deol, Batwara 1947 had been expected to be one of the biggest releases of the year. It brought together Sunny Deol and Santoshi again after Ghatak and Gadar, and also marked Preity Zinta’s return to the big screen after an eight-year gap.
advertisement
In a conversation with Zoom, Azmi said, “Firstly, I am very surprised at the total box office disaster that Batwara 1947 has been because I am surrounded by people who come and tell me they have loved the film. They tell me that they loved the message. A lot of them feel that it is very important to speak about humanity in today’s environment. On the other hand, people didn’t go to the theatre and the ones who did, they walked out with confused reactions.”
She added, “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.”
Azmi also said some viewers appeared to have misunderstood the character Deol was playing. “I am surprised at how people are reacting to it. Even the ones who have watched the film think Sunny Deol is playing a Pakistani. He is not. It is simply not registering in their heads. Even Bushra Ahmed (Pakistani actor) objected to the film’s language. She said the Punjabi dialect used by the villain is not right. If both religions are not liking the film, it means it is something which is pure and beautiful.”
Pointing to the wider climate around such stories, she said, “The problem is that you cannot touch the subject of Hindustan and Pakistan in this setup, which is very disappointing. This is a film 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 film so much?”
Questions around the casting
Batwara 1947 has received mixed reviews, and apart from the screenplay, Deol playing an Indian Muslim hero has also become a point of discussion. Santoshi has said that casting him as Sikandar Mirza, an Indian Muslim caught in the turmoil of Partition, was seen as a risky move when the film was first conceived around 15 years ago.
In an interview with India Today, Santoshi said the industry had been reluctant to back a film centred on Pakistan and featuring an Indian Muslim protagonist. “Everybody wanted to make mainstream cinema. Be it commercial, fighting, songs, item songs. They all wanted to be very safe and stick to the success formula,” he said.
“Nobody wants to hear the word Pakistan or a Muslim, and a Muslim protagonist, tauba tauba. And on top of that, Sunny playing the part was a shocker for most. He is a champion of Hindus; how can he play a Muslim? It will never work. He should go to Pakistan, beat them up; that was their idea. But we believed Sunny was the right person to get the message across,” he added.
Santoshi also said, “He is a very popular star, and I was confident that if they came to the theatre and watched the film, the audience wouldn’t be disappointed. Because Sunny is playing a brave man; he is the most courageous character I have written. One can fight with a single army, or a group of people, but to fight and take a stand against fanaticism in today’s time, impossible. Nobody will dare to do that.”
He also praised Deol for taking on material he described as religiously sensitive, saying, “Most of the stars, nobody wants to get into that; they are all scared. He came forward to do it, mouthing direct verses from the Quran. At least one should support and encourage that conviction.” The director expressed that he salutes Sunny Deol for doing the role.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
