Why Sunny Deol’s Muslim Character In Batwara 1947 Seemed ‘Risky’ To Investors? Rajkumar Santoshi Explains

Batwara 1947 director Rajkumar Santoshi has revealed that he had a tough time finding investors for his movie, as it is based on the Partition era and has Sunny Deol playing a Muslim character. Santoshi, who makes his directorial comeback and reunion with Deol, said several financiers interested in the project preferred the actor in a conventional action role. The filmmaker also clarified that Deol doesn’t play a Pakistani character in the film, contrary to some reports and reviews. Instead, he portrays an Indian Muslim forced to migrate to Pakistan during Partition to save himself and his family.

Santoshi told Galatta India that while investors were excited about his collab with Sunny Deol, they expected the filmmaker to return to the kind of action cinema that was associated with their previous titles like Ghayal, Damini and Ghatak.

“Most of the investors here in Mumbai came to know that Sunny Deol and I were doing a film, they wanted me to do a regular action film, a vigilante film. They were not ready to take this film, where Sunny is playing a Muslim character,” Santoshi said.

When the investors found out that Deol would be playing a serious role as a Muslim man in a Partition drama, they apparently refused to fund  .Santoshi said that Deol may have played Muslim characters before, but his part in it was different in tone and treatment.

Santoshi also tried to clear what he called a misconception about Deol’s role. “Now, I have been reading reviews where it is mentioned that he is playing a Pakistani. I would like to clarify, he is not playing a Pakistani. He is playing a Muslim from India,” Santoshi clarified.

Santoshi explains that Deol’s character is born and raised in India, but is forced to migrate to Pakistan during the violence and upheaval of Partition. “He is displaced, and to save his life and save his family, he migrated to Pakistan.”

The filmmaker said the character’s journey is the crux of the film, and to simply label him as Pakistani would downplay his background and situation. But the subject matter seemed risky to investors because the Partition setting of the film and references to Pakistan made potential financiers wary.

“That became a major problem for us, investors didn’t want to take such a bold and risky subject. Now, the trend has become that even if you say Pakistan, you are considered anti-national,” he said, adding that the present environment makes filmmakers and investors cautious about projects dealing with India-Pakistan themes.

Santoshi also revealed that   was aware of the challenges the project faced in terms of finding financial backing. He was very supportive and offered to produce the film if the team was not able to find a producer. “Aamir was aware of it, and he knew about it. He was very supportive, and he mentioned that he would produce it if nobody did,” Santoshi said.

The filmmaker further added that the team approached different producers, and Deol also tried to arrange for finance. But the issue remained a possible deterrent to investors.