Ahead of the release of his upcoming film Batwara 1947, set around the time of India’s Partition, actor Sunny Deol, in an interaction with journalists in Bihar’s Patna, shared his opinion on Pakistan as a nation.
When a reporter asked him for his views on the neighbouring country, Sunny quoted his father, the late Dharmendra, and referred to Pakistan as “mausi” (aunt) of Indians. He also stated that the film was shot entirely in India and not in Pakistan.
“Hum feel ki baatein nahi karte because pura mulk ek hi tha. Jaise papa ne kaha ki ye meri maa hai aur vo meri mausi hai — ye toh aap log sab achi tarah se jante hain. Hum sab ek tarah se hain toh jude hue kahin na kahin se (We don’t talk about sentiments because the entire country was once one. As my father used to say — and as you all know very well — this (India) is my mother, and that (Pakistan) is my aunt. In a way, we are all connected somewhere or other),” he said.
“Main us sab me zyada jana nahi chahta… hum actors hain, we are makers. Hum kahaaniyaan chunte hain aur kahaaniyan banate hain. Usko phir hum yahan vahan, usko politically nahi le ke jate hain aur na jana chahte hain. Isilye main us sabki baat hi nahi karuga (I don’t want to delve too deep into all that because we are actors; we are makers. We choose stories, and we create stories. We don’t take them in a political direction, nor do we wish to. That is why I won’t speak about those matters at all),” he added.
It should be noted that Sunny served as a BJP MP representing the Gurdaspur constituency from 2019-2024.
Set during the time of Partition, the film tells a story of a Muslim family, headed by Sunny's character, with Preity Zinta playing his wife and Karan Deol playing his son. After Independence, the family is forced to go to Pakistan but the house they are allotted already has a resident, an elderly Punjabi woman (Shabana Azmi) who refuses to leave. As tensions rise in the Pakistan town, Sunny takes it upon himself to save the Punjabi woman from fanatics.
Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi, the film also features Ali Fazal and Abhimanyu Singh. Batwara 1947 is slated to release on August 14 when it will clash with Emraan Hashmi’s Awarapan 2 in theatres.