Sunny Deol’s Batwara 1947 has had a mild impact at the box office despite positive reviews for his performance. Amid the film’s decent run, filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi has now revealed that investors initially considered the film’s subject risky and were hesitant about Sunny portraying a Muslim character.
In an interview with Galatta India, Rajkumar Santoshi opened up about the difficulties he faced while finding investors for Batwara 1947. He revealed “Most of the investors here in Mumbai came to know that Sunny Deol and I were doing a film; they wanted me to do a regular action film, a vigilante film. They were not ready to take this film, where Sunny is playing a Muslim character.”
Santoshi also clarified that despite reviews referring to Sunny’s character as Pakistani, he actually plays an Indian Muslim who is forced to migrate to Pakistan during Partition to protect his family and save his life. The filmmaker added that the sensitive subject of Partition further made potential investors cautious about financing the film.
Although Sunny Deol has played Muslim characters before, Santoshi noted that his role in Batwara 1947 is different as it is a serious portrayal rooted in the Partition era. “He must have played before, but here it is a serious character,” the filmmaker said.
Santoshi revealed that Aamir Khan was aware of the challenges surrounding Batwara 1947 and extended his support to the project. “Aamir was aware of it and he knew about it. He was very supportive and he mentioned that he would produce it if nobody does,” Santoshi shared.
The filmmaker said the team approached several producers, with Sunny Deol also reaching out to potential backers, but investors remained reluctant to take on the Partition-based subject. “We had actually reached out to producers, Sunny also contacted but the problem was that they didn’t want to take up this subject,” Santoshi said.
According to Santoshi, producers preferred a conventional action film featuring Deol in a familiar avatar. “They wanted us to make a film like Ghayal or Ghatak where Sunny is beating everyone,” he said.
Despite praise for Sunny Deol and Shabana Azmi’s performances, Batwara 1947 is trying to connect with audiences since its August 14 release. The film also stars Karan Deol, Preity Zinta and Ali Fazal in crucial roles.
Also Read: Batwara 1947 Review: Humanity’s Triumph Over Hatred
