Rajkumar Santoshi says he settled for ‘A’ rating for Batwara 1947: ‘CBFC loved the film’

However, he isn’t discouraged by the development as Batwara 1947 was never aimed at educating the audience, including children below 18. “We’re not making the film to give any message. I’m not a teacher. A film should entertain first,” said Santoshi. He added that the film’s story is so engrossing that one doesn’t see the characters “as Hindu or Muslim, but as humans”.

“You just see that a human has both strengths and weaknesses when something happens to them. We’ve seen during Partition how humans have shown great courage and sacrifice, but at the same time, stooped down to the filthiest of acts,” said Santoshi. He also added that the title was never officially changed to Batwara 1947 from Lahore 1947, since the latter was always a “working title”.

Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta reunite in Batwara 1947.

Sunny Deol on starring in Batwara 1947 during divisive times

Batwara 1947 is an interesting title choice for Sunny’s new film, since his late father and legendary actor also starred in a hit film called Batwara, directed by JP Dutta, back in 1989. In fact, it was during that filming in Jaipur that Santoshi first narrated the story of his 1990 hit vigilante action film Ghayal to Dharmendra, who would go on to produce it under his banner Vijayta Films, with Sunny in the lead, marking his son’s maiden collaboration with Santoshi.

Given his track record with Santoshi — Ghayal, Damini (1993), and Ghatak (1996) — Sunny is confident that Batwara 1947 will also strike a chord with the audience, irrespective of the climate it’s releasing in. In the film, he plays a Muslim man who relocates to Lahore, Pakistan after Partition, and ends up sheltering and protecting an elderly Hindu woman (Shabana Azmi), whom he looks up to as his mother.

“We’re not trying to neutralize the characters. That’s how they were written, and that’s what we’re trying to bring out. When you watch the film, you’ll be so involved in the journey that you’ll realize what Partition was, and how important it’s to stand by yourself against all the odds. But it’s not whether we lean it towards the left or the right,” shared Sunny.

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The actor added that he first heard the story from Santoshi back in 2010, and has stayed true to its core even now. “We wanted to make this film since 2010, and that’s what we did without paying any heed to the current climate. I’ve never thought about it so much because we don’t have any ill intention,” he claimed. Batwara 1947 reunites him and Santoshi after a gap of 30 years.