Imtiaz Ali defends Diljit Dosanjh amid Sardaar Ji 3 row: 'He has immense love for his country'

Imtiaz Ali has defended Diljit Dosanjh in the face of mounting criticism over the casting of Pakistani actor Hania Aamir in Sardaar Ji 3. The Federation of Western India Cinema Employees (FWICE) is criticising the actor-singer for co-starring with her. In light of this feedback, the film's producers have opted to release it exclusively internationally rather than in India.

Imtiaz Ali praises Diljit Dosanjh’s patriotism during interview

The director of Netflix's Amar Singh Chamkila (starring Dosanjh), Ali, discussed the matter in an interview with NDTV. He chose not to go into detail about the situation, but he did praise Dosanjh's honesty and patriotism.

The filmmaker pointed out, "I can’t say much on the row, but since I know Diljit, I can say that uss mein deshbhakti ka jazbaa poora bhara hua hai (He is completely filled with the spirit of patriotism). He is a son of the soil. You can see at all his concerts, he shows up with the Indian flag."

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Ali went on to say, "He is not a guy who fakes things. Fakeness ke saath woh kuch nahi karta hai (He doesn’t do anything that’s fake). No one asked him to do it. At the end of all his concerts, he says, ‘Main hoon Punjab’ (I am Punjab), with the Indian flag."

Imtiaz Ali responds to backlash over Hania Aamir’s casting

Aamir's casting was controversial, and Ali addressed the criticisms directed at Dosanjh. The filmmaker said, "I don’t know the details, but casting someone isn’t the decision of the actor. I don’t know how it went, but I know that uske andar desh prem bahut zyada hai (He has immense love for his country)… Jo log dekh paayenge unke andar ke sach ko, unko ye samajh mein aa jaayega (Those who are able to see the truth within him will understand this)."

Dosanjh has already addressed the matter in an interview with BBC Asian Network, providing more details on the film's production timeline and circumstances.

Diljit Dosanjh clarifies context around film’s release strategy

The actor performer claimed, "Jab yeh film bani thi tab toh situation sab theek tha. Matlab jab yeh humne shoot kiya, February mein… February mein shoot kiya, tab situation theek thi, saara kuchh sahi chal raha tha. Uske baad, dekho, bohot saari cheezein, badi cheezein, humaare haath mein nahi hai. Toh yeh producers ne decide kiya ki yeh film obviously ab India toh nahi lagegi, toh isko overseas release karte hain. Toh obviously inka bohot paisa laga hua hai, aur jab yeh film ban rahi thi tab aisa kuchh tha nahi (When this film was made, everything was fine. I mean, when we shot it — in February… we shot it in February — things were fine back then; everything was going smoothly. After that, you see, a lot of things — big things — are not in our control. So the producers decided that obviously now the film won’t be released in India, so they’ll release it overseas. Obviously, they have invested a lot of money, and when the film was being made, none of this was an issue)."

The international distribution of Sardaar Ji 3 is anticipated to proceed as scheduled, although the film would not be released in theatres in India.