The director of 'Bantwara 1947' reported significant losses and difficulties encountered because of Akshay Kumar's film 'Kesari'. The film 'Kesari', released in 2019 and based on the Battle of Saragarhi, was made with the participation of producer Karan Johar, received positive audience reviews, and was commercially successful.
However, at the time of creating 'Kesari', another project about the same battle was being developed in parallel, which was intended to be 'Bantwara 1947' under the direction of Rajkumar Santoshi. Although preparations for this film began, production was suddenly halted.
Rajkumar Santoshi told the PVK YouTube channel that he started working on the film about the Battle of Saragarhi even before Akshay's film appeared. He mentioned that in 2014, after creating a poster with Shahid Kapoor, he worked on the picture, which was then suspended. After that, he started working on the project about the Battle of Saragarhi.
The director emphasized that he invested a lot of effort and time in researching the material for his film. He noted that although filming for 'Kesari' had reached 20 days, the industry proved to be complex, and he felt as if he had become like Bhagat Singh.
Rajkumar Santoshi expressed regret that his project did not materialize. He said they aimed to create a very sincere film, carefully selecting actors who had never cut their hair or grown a beard in real life, and conducted 20 days of shooting in Gangana Gore, Rajasthan. He also highly praised Randip Hooda, noting that he perfectly embodied the image of a sardar.
The director of 'Bantwara 1947' also raised issues about unity in the industry. He expressed dissatisfaction that Karan Johar and Akshay Kumar created the film 'Kesari' without consulting him, despite them working in the same industry, which he compares to a family. He believes that if someone intends to shoot such material, they should give a warning.
He added that when others started shooting their film, all representatives of OTT and satellite broadcasting refused to cooperate. The reason was that Akshay Kumar is a big star, and Karan Johar is a very big producer. These people knew that the film would be released quickly, so they did not enter into deals with him, which led to the stagnation of his picture.
As for Rajkumar Santoshi, after the success of the film 'Ajab Prem' with Ranbir Kapoor, he has not directed particularly successful films at the box office. His recent film 'Bantwara 1947' is also facing difficulties compared to Imaran Hashmi's 'Avarapan 2'.