As calls grow louder to halt the release of Sardaar Ji 3, Diljit Dosanjh’s upcoming Punjabi film featuring Pakistani actor Hania Aamir, several voices from Bollywood have spoken in defence of the actor and the project. Director Imtiaz Ali and celebrated lyricist-screenwriter Javed Akhtar have both addressed the controversy and shared their perspectives. In an interview with NDTV, Imtiaz Ali, who previously collaborated with Diljit on the film Amar Singh Chamkila, responded to the backlash regarding the actor’s association with a Pakistani artiste.
“Look, I can’t say much on the matter, but I do know Diljit personally, and I know he has a deep sense of patriotism. He’s truly a son of the soil. If you look at his major concerts, he always ends them by waving the Indian flag. And I know for a fact that he’s not someone who does anything fake, he’s genuine. No one asked him to do all this, but at every concert, he declares ‘I am Punjab’ and proudly takes India’s name. Now, I don’t know the full details of the casting process, since actors usually don’t make those decisions. But I do know that he has immense love for the country, and those who can see the truth will understand it in a few days.”
Veteran writer Javed Akhtar also supported the film’s release, calling for a practical and sympathetic view of the situation. “I don’t know when exactly the film was made, but if it was completed before all this happened, what can the poor producer do? How could he have known what was going to happen later? It’s his money on the line, Pakistan’s money isn’t at stake here, it’s the Indian producer who will lose out. Laws don’t work retrospectively. You can’t create a law today and apply it to a situation from ten years ago, that’s not practical. Had that poor guy known something like this was going to happen, he wouldn’t have cast the actress. I believe the government and censor board should view this matter with sympathy and simply say: ‘Please don’t repeat this going forward.’ It shouldn’t happen again.”
Sardaar Ji 3 has been at the center of a growing controversy ever since the Pahalgam terror attack in April, after which Indian film associations imposed a blanket ban on Pakistani artists. “In a previous interview with BBC Asian Network, Diljit Dosanjh addressed the backlash and explained the timeline of the film’s production: “When the film was made, the situation was fine. This film was shot in February. A lot of things happened after that which are not in our control. When it (Pahalgam attack) happened, the producers knew that they can’t release this film in India anymore. But, they decided to release it overseas as they have invested a lot of money in the film. They will 100% suffer losses because they are removing an entire territory.”
Producer of Sardaar Ji 3, Gunbir Singh Sidhu, earlier told NDTV that the film was shot before the Pahalgam attack and that, at the time, there was no such ban in place. He also spoke about the financial ramifications of Sardaar Ji 3 not getting a release in India, stating that ’40 percent of our revenue loss has happened.’
In a recent development, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) officially appealed to actor Sunny Deol and filmmaker Imtiaz Ali to sever all professional ties with Diljit Dosanjh over the issue. The organization has taken a firm stance, urging Indian artists and producers to abide by the industry-wide directive against Pakistani collaborations
