Ahead of Independence Day on August 14, the films 'Avarapan 2' and 'Bantwara 1947' were released in cinemas. While 'Avarapan 2' achieved significant success, 'Bantwara 1947' was met with negative reactions from viewers and failed at the box office, collecting less than 50 million rupees.
The failure of 'Bantwara 1947' surprised Shabana Azmi greatly. In a recent interview, she openly discussed the film's flop. She expressed deep regret that the movie failed commercially despite many viewers highly appreciating it.
Shabana Azmi noted that she is often told how much people liked the film and praised its message, emphasizing the importance of conversations about humanity in the current climate. However, she observed that people either did not go to theaters or left the hall confused after watching.
Regarding Sunny Deol, Shabana Azmi stated that the public does not accept him in a Muslim role. She cited examples where Amitabh Bachchan easily played Muslim characters in films like 'Deewar', where he showed the number 786, and the public accepted it. She questioned why the situation has changed now and whether such an atmosphere is being intentionally created.
In the same interview, the veteran actress also responded to the criticism directed at Sunny Deol's Pakistani character, as well as remarks from Pakistani actress Bushra Ansari. She expressed incomprehension as to how the public could consider Sunny Deol's character Pakistani if it was not. Bushra Ansari also raised objections to the film's language, noting that the use of the Punjabi dialect by Villemon was incorrect.
Shabana Azmi concluded that if the film is not liked by people from both religions, then there must be something true and beautiful in it. She expressed disappointment that it has become difficult to make films on such sensitive topics as India and Pakistan in the current environment. She stressed that the film is not politically flawed, and it is hard to find faults in it. Despite this, she is surprised by the divergence of audience opinions, as many praise the picture.
The film 'Bantwara 1947' was directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and produced by Amir Khan. In addition to Sunny and Shabana Azmi, the film also featured actors such as Preeti Jinta, Karan Deol, Ali Fazal, and Abhimanyu Singh.