Punjabi actor Diljit Dosanjh has spoken out on the row over the international release of his new movie Sardaar Ji 3, which includes Pakistani actress Hania Aamir. The furore broke out soon after Dosanjh posted the trailer for the film, which is to be released internationally on June 27.
Some social media users have subsequently called for a boycott of the singer-actor, while industry associations like the All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) and the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) condemned Dosanjh in public for collaborating with a Pakistani artist against the backdrop of increased tensions between India and Pakistan after the recent Pahalgam terror attack.
In an interview with BBC Asian Network, Dosanjh explained that the project was signed and shot during a time of relative peace between the two nations.
When this film was produced, everything was okay. We have done it in February and all was good at that time," he clarified. "Look, there are lots of things, big things, which are out of our hands. So the producers thought that clearly, now this film won't release in India, so let's release it in abroad.
With the present embargo on Pakistani actors in India, the movie won't find a local release, prompting producers to go for an overseas release in a bid to cut losses. Dosanjh expressed his support for their move with the financial risk factor involved.
"When I signed the movie, everything was okay. And now, the situation is not in our control. So if they want to release it overseas, then I'm with them," he added. "They already have it in their mind that there will be a loss, 100 per cent, because you're taking out a whole territory."
The diplomatic tension mounted further after a terror strike at Pahalgam on April 22 left 26 dead. To retaliate, the Indian army launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 against nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
In response to the heightening tensions, Indian officials blocked access to the social media pages of a number of Pakistani stars like Hania Aamir, Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Ali Zafar, Atif Aslam, and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. Indian movie industry industry associations further threatened to call for a total ban on Pakistani artists.
Contrary to the backlash, Dosanjh reaffirmed that producers had spent heavily on Sardaar Ji 3 and could not have predicted the change in geopolitics.
Amar Hundal-directed, the movie is produced by Gunbir Singh Sidhu and Manmord Sidhu under White Hill Studios in association with Story Time Productions.
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