Rajkumar Santoshi reveals investors feared Sunny Deol playing a ‘Pakistani’ in Batwara 1947, called film 'risky’

Director Rajkumar Santoshi shared that Batwara 1947's controversial subject worried investors and recalled Aamir Khan's support.

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol’s Batwara 1947 has been struggling at the box office despite positive reviews for his performance. Amid this, filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi has revealed that investors considered the film’s subject ‘risky’ and had apprehensions about Sunny playing a Muslim character.

Rajkumar Santoshi recalls struggling to get investors for Batwara 1947.

Rajkumar Santoshi on not getting investors for Batwara 1947

In an interview with Galatta India, Rajkumar Santoshi recalled the struggle to secure financing for Batwara 1947 and said, “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.”

The director further said that while he had been reading reviews describing Sunny as a Pakistani, the actor’s character is actually a Muslim man from India who was uprooted and migrated to Pakistan to save his life and protect his family. Rajkumar Santoshi also revealed that the film’s subject, the Partition, made potential financiers cautious.

He said, “That became a major problem for us; investors didn't want to take such a risky subject. Now, the trend has become that even if you say Pakistan, you are considered anti-national. They wanted us to make a film like 'Ghayal' or 'Ghatak' where Sunny is beating everyone. Aamir was aware of it, and he knew about it. He was very supportive, and he mentioned that he would produce it if nobody did.”

About Batwara 1947

The film marks the filmmaker’s reunion with Sunny Deol after nearly 30 years. The duo previously collaborated on memorable films such as Ghayal (1990), Damini (1993) and Ghatak (1996). Batwara 1947 is based on Asghar Wajahat’s 1989 play Jis Lahore Nai Vekhya, O Jamya E Nai. The film revolves around a married couple, played by Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta, who are forced to migrate to Pakistan following Partition. After arriving there, they are allotted a house where they discover a Hindu woman living there. Sunny’s character vows to protect her while also keeping his family safe.

While Sunny and Shabana Azmi’s performances have received critical acclaim, the film appears to have struggled to connect with audiences. Batwara 1947 was released on August 14 to mixed reviews from critics and audiences. The film, which also stars Karan Deol, Preity Zinta and Ali Fazal in key roles, has struggled at the box office amid competition from Emraan Hashmi’s Awarapan 2. It has so far collected around ₹32 crore in India, while Awarapan 2 has crossed the ₹100 crore mark domestically.