Sardaar Ji 3: Diljit Dosanjh shares public response in Pakistan amid row over Hania Aamir's casting

The team of Sardaar Ji 3 faced flak for casting Pakistani actor Hania Aamir after the Pahalgam attack. The film did not release in India.

The team of the Punjabi film Sardaar Ji 3 have faced flak the last few days for choosing to cast Pakistani actor Hania Aamir as the female lead. Diljit Dosanjh, who plays the male lead, took to his Instagram stories on Sunday to share the audience reaction to the film from Pakistan after it was banned from release in India. (Also Read: Imtiaz Ali defends Diljit Dosanjh amid row over casting Hania Aamir in Sardaar Ji 3; calls him ‘son of the soil’)

Hania Aamir and Diljit Dosanjh in a still from the Punjabi film Sardaar Ji 3.

Diljit Dosanjh shares audience reaction to Sardaar Ji 3 in Pakistan

Diljit took to his Instagram stories and re-posted a video which showed audience reactions to Sardaar Ji 3 in a Pakistani theatre. Interestingly, the video he posted features Hania in a scene. The text on the reel he re-shared reads, “12 shows on ultra screens the largest in the country. Overwhelming response from the audience for Sardaar Ji 3. Come and watch!”

Diljit Dosanjh posted audience reaction to Sardaar Ji 3 in Pakistan.

Another post he re-shared shows that the film has collected ₹11.03 crore worldwide in two days of release. It collected ₹4.32 crore on the opening day and saw a hike on the second day, bringing in ₹6.71 crore worldwide. These numbers are from the film’s release in different regions, including Pakistan.

Sardaar Ji 3 collected ₹11.03 crore worldwide after no release in India.

The Sardaar Ji 3 controversy explained

The trailer of Sardaar Ji 3 was released less than a week ago, and the film’s team immediately received flak as it featured Hania. Since the Pahalgam attack in April, a decision was taken not to cast Pakistani actors in films or to feature artists in works. However, speaking to BBC Asian Network, Diljit maintained that the film was shot months before the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor. He also spoke in support of the producers releasing the film abroad.

Prominent film bodies have written to Sunny Deol and the makers of Border 2 to drop Diljit from the film. Imtiaz Ali was also asked to replace him in his upcoming project.