Batwara 1947 director Rajkumar Santoshi says investors rejected the film over Sunny Deol’s Muslim character

Rajkumar Santoshi and a still from Batwara 1947 (Pictures via X)

Filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi has revealed that investors were initially reluctant to back Batwara 1947 because of its subject and Sunny Deol's Muslim character. Speaking to Galatta India, Santoshi said financiers wanted him to make a conventional action film with Deol instead.

Rajkumar Santoshi reveals investors didn't want to do Batwara 1947

Santoshi explained that several Mumbai-based investors were interested in reuniting him with Deol, but were hesitant when they learned about the subject of the film. "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," he said.

While Deol may have portrayed Muslim characters before, Santoshi said his role in Batwara 1947 was different because it was a serious portrayal rooted in the Partition era. "He must have played before, but here it is a serious character," the filmmaker said.

On Sunny Deol playing muslim

Santoshi also addressed what he described as a misconception surrounding Deol's character. He clarified that the actor is not playing a Pakistani in the film, despite some reviews referring to him that way. "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. He is uprooted and to save his life and save his family, he migrated to Pakistan," Santoshi said.

Explaining the character's background, he added, "Otherwise, he has been born and brought up there. It is easy to brand a person, but he isn't a Pakistani character in the film." According to Santoshi, the film's subject became a major hurdle while looking for investors. "That became a major problem for us, investors didn't want to take such a bold and risky subject. Now, that the trend has become that even if you say Pakistan you are considered anti-national," he said.

How Aamir Khan supported the film

Santoshi revealed that Aamir Khan was aware of the difficulties surrounding the project and offered his support. "Aamir was aware of it and he knew about it. He was very supportive and he mentioned that he would produce it if nobody does," Santoshi shared.

The filmmaker said the team had approached several producers, while Deol also tried to help find backing. However, financiers remained hesitant about the subject. "We had actually reached out to producers, Sunny also contacted but the problem was that they didn't want to take up this subject," Santoshi said.

He added that investors instead wanted a more familiar action vehicle for Deol. "They wanted us to make a film like Ghayal or Ghatak where Sunny is beating everyone," he said.