Sunny Deol tears up as Rajkumar Santoshi recalls Dharmendra’s reaction to Batwara 1947: ‘Bola tha picture chalegi’

Batwara 1947 features an ensemble cast including Shabana Azmi, Sunny Deol, Preity G Zinta, Karan Deol, Ali Fazal and Abhimanyu Singh.

Aamir Khan Productions’ Batwara 1947 trailer was unveiled on Tuesday in the presence of the film's cast and crew. It also left everyone emotional as director Rajkumar Santoshi narrated late Dharmendra’s bonding with the film. Sunny Deol, Shabana Azmi, Karan Deol and Abhimanyu Singh were in attendance at the launch of the trailer. The film's story revolves around the chaos and mess caused during the partition of 1947, which saw many families torn apart in the madness of communal riots.

Sunny Deol gets emotional as Rajkumar Santoshi recalls Dharmendra’s reaction to Batwara 1947.

Sunny Deol gets emotional over Dharmendra’s connection with the film

The trailer launch became particularly moving when Rajkumar spoke about Dharmendra, who had watched the film before his death. Sunny was visibly emotional, wiping away tears as the filmmaker recalled how the veteran actor reacted when he was shown the film.

Addressing the press in Hindi, Rajkumar said, “Dharam ji ki blessing bahut hai iss film ke andar. Narration suna tha and he was very emotional. Aankh mein aansu aa gaye, bahut aashirwad diya aur Dharam ji ki mere khyaal se last film joh unhone dekhi woh bhi Batwara hai. Tabhi unhone bola tha ki picture bahut chalegi bahut achcha kaam kiya aap logon ne unka aashirwad hai toh I am grateful and I thank Dharam ji today here."

(Translation: This film carries Dharam-ji's abundant blessings. When he heard the narration, he was deeply moved—he was even brought to tears—and he offered his heartfelt blessings. In fact, I believe Batwara was the last film of mine that he watched; even back then, he predicted it would be a huge success and praised the excellent work we had done. I am truly grateful for his blessings and wish to express my thanks to Dharam-ji here today.)

Shabana Azmi recalls an intense scene

Shabana Azmi also got emotional and opened up about one of the most difficult moments she had to film for Batwara 1947. The veteran actor plays a character who is subjected to violence and humiliation, with a scene in the trailer showing her being dragged by the antagonist as her kurta is torn.

“There is a scene in the film which, personally, as a human being, made me feel very humiliated and very stripped of any dignity. You see a glimpse of it in the trailer, where the villain drags me and tears my kurta. At that moment, I don't think I have ever felt so vulnerable and exposed as I did as a human being,” she said.

Shabana gets emotional while talking about Sunny Deol

The actor also spoke about another interesting incident involving Sunny and his family. Shabana said that her last show was the theatre production of Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani with Dharmendra, and she will be back on stage, doing a play with Sunny and Karan Deol.

“My last film to release in theatres was with Dharam ji, and now my next film is with Sunny and Karan. Now I can work with Abhay too. You all should ask Bobby to get ready as well,” she joked, drawing laughter from the audience.

However, her memories of working with Sunny were tinged with sadness. She described the scene in which he helped her character, and said he made her remember it in a new light. “When Sunny came and put that dupatta on me, in that moment, he was not just my co-actor. He became my son, he became my protector,” she said, pausing to hold back tears. “I hugged him with every iota of my being and said, 'Thank God he's there to save me.'”

When is Batwara 1947 releasing?

Batwara 1947 features an ensemble cast including Shabana Azmi, Sunny Deol, Preity G Zinta, Karan Deol, Ali Fazal and Abhimanyu Singh, and marks Rajkumar Santoshi's association with Sunny Deol after more than a quarter century.

Produced by Aamir Khan Productions, this film directed by RAjkumar Santoshi, music by A.R. Rahman and lyrics by Javed Akhtar, stars Aamir Khan and Aparna Purohit`s banner, it will be released worldwide on 14th August 2026.