Imran Khan says he is ‘glad’ comeback spy thriller got shelved: ‘Fetishization and sexualisation of violence makes me uncomfortable’

Sharing his perspective on the current state of cinema, Imran Khan said, “All things said and done…that thing fell into limbo and it doesn’t look like it will be resurrected. I am glad that that thing ended up not coming together because I don’t want to play a character who solves problems with a gun.”

He added, “I have sense where cinema is going globally. There is a glamorisation, fetishization and sexualisation of violence that makes me uncomfortable. I have grown watching action cinema. My heroes were Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Indiana Jones. But there is a way to portray violence and this is not a morality thing. Violence and action are a language within cinema but when we communicate it and portray it in films, there is a way to do it where you feel the weight of it.”

Imran Khan shared an example of a scene from the film Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix, and how the ‘brutal and horrifying’ scene ‘shattered and shook’ him. He said, “We have started making films where heroes will just go in and go boom and boom. They make it cool and sexy and that makes me uncomfortable.”

The cinematic landscape of 2023 was dominated by blockbusters like Animal, Jawan, Pathaan and Gadar 2, all of whom were criticised for glorifying violence. Even Rajinikanth faced similar backlash with his film Jailer.