Batwara 1947’s box office performance has sparked a debate over whether audiences were ready to see Sunny Deol in a Muslim roleAfter Shabana Azmi offered her take, director Rajkumar Santoshi has now responded
Published: August 30, 2026, 4:09 PM IST
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Batwara 1947 director Rajkumar Santoshi and Sunny Deol (PC: Twitter)
The discussion around Batwara 1947’s underwhelming box office performance has taken another turnAfter Shabana Azmi suggested that audiences may have struggled to accept Sunny Deol as a Muslim character in the Partition drama, director Rajkumar Santoshi has now responded to the theoryAnd he does not appear to agree with her reasoningThe filmmaker, who reunited with Sunny Deol for the film after three decades, questioned whether an actor’s religion or the community of the character they play should really influence the audience’s acceptance of a filmSantoshi also brought up Amitabh Bachchan’s popular Muslim characters to make his point.
Rajkumar Santoshi disagrees with Shabana Azmi’s theory
Rajkumar Santoshi has now rejected the idea that Sunny Deol’s Muslim character could have been the reason behind the film’s poor performance. Speaking about Shabana Azmi’s comments with Variety India, Rajkumar Santoshi said the theory “makes no sense” to himHe pointed out that Amitabh Bachchan had also played Muslim characters, referring specifically to Coolie, where Bachchan played a Muslim porter.
He said, “It makes no sense to meAmitabh Bachchan played a Muslim hero in ‘Coolie.’ So many of Manmohan Desai’s films had Muslim heroesAre we at a point where we cannot accept a hero from the other community? We are sensible, good people, educated peopleHow are they saying there’s a big mistake in the film?”
Santoshi’s response comes after he had previously admitted that the team had considered whether casting Sunny as a Muslim character could affect the filmHowever, the director ultimately went ahead with the casting.
He further shared, “We have become far less tolerant and inclusive as a peopleYou should look at the filmmaker’s intent and what the writer wants to say. I’m a HinduI go to the templeMy son’s name is RamI am not against any faithBut I want to take the best of every faithWhatever the saints have tried to say about faith, it is always about equalityHinduism has always been about inclusiveness, not exclusion.”
This is a developing story.
