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Santoshi rejects Azmi claim on Batwara flop
The Indian Express··30 Aug
Director Rajkumar Santoshi dismissed Shabana Azmi's view that Batwara 1947 flopped because audiences rejected Sunny Deol as a Muslim character. Santoshi told Variety India the claim makes no sense, citing Amitabh Bachchan in Coolie. Azmi had said viewers could not accept Deol as Muslim. Mounted on a reported Rs 150 crore budget, the film has grossed Rs 54.03 crore worldwide.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Viewers debating Batwara 1947 now have the director and a lead actor offering opposite explanations for the box-office result.
- The reported Rs 150 crore budget and Rs 54.03 crore worldwide gross set a concrete recovery gap for the film.
- Fans of Coolie-era casting debates can compare Santoshi's examples with Azmi's Zoom remarks on community acceptance.
What's Happening
- Azmi told Zoom she was surprised by the box-office disaster and linked it to audiences not accepting Sunny Deol as a Muslim.
- Santoshi replied that many earlier films cast Muslim heroes and questioned the idea that such casting is now unacceptable.
- Batwara 1947 also stars Preity Zinta, Karan Deol and Ali Fazal and was bankrolled by Aamir Khan Productions.
The Box Office Numbers
- Industry tracker Sacnilk put worldwide gross at Rs 54.03 crore against a reported Rs 150 crore budget.
- Azmi also said some viewers thought Deol was playing a Pakistani character, which she said was incorrect.
- Santoshi separately said recreating a Ramayana-based scene from his film Lajja may not be possible today.
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