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Filmmaker Siddharth Anand says his latest aerial actioner Fighter, whose trailer was met with divided reactions on the internet for being jingoistic, is not an anti-Pakistan film but a “happy Indian patriotic” feature that is against terrorism. The film is headlined by Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone.
When the trailer of Fighter was dropped online last week, X (formerly Twitter) users were divided, with a section appreciating its mammoth scale and VFX while the other calling out its jingoistic tone and dialogues. Some Pakistani celebrities like Hania Aamir, Adnan Siddiqui and Zara Noor Abbas said the trailer was aggressive with a strong anti-Pakistan sentiment with dialogues like “India Occupied Pakistan.”
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During a media interaction on Tuesday, the filmmaker was asked his reaction on Pakistani celebrities calling out his film. The director said he is aware of the conversation and stated that Fighter is based on a true incident and what the team has depicted is what happened in real life.
“It is out there in public domain, so it is nothing new we have done. Somethings that you are talking about… which may have offended them, I would want them to see the film and see the context in which what has happened and what has been said and then react. This is out of context, because it’s in a trailer. If I play out the full story in it, why will you come to the theatre? I will raise some questions, and to get the answer you will come in the theatres. That’s what this has done, it has serviced exactly that motive. In a way I am happy it has done that, made people inquisitive.
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“Come to the theatre, it will answer all your questions, you will understand the context of it, the emotion behind it, and you will be satisfied. Everyone will understand what we are saying. The primary thing I want to reiterate and what has been said in the film is that our war is not against a country, it is against terrorism. That is what Fighter stands for. It is a fight against terrorism, not against a particular country. That is emphasised throughout the film.”
In a follow-up question, Siddharth was asked about the dialogues–especially the ones mouthed by Hrithik Roshan– being “borderline jingoistic”, especially coming from him after helming a progressive patriotic film like Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan last year.
When asked how would he justify the language, Siddharth said he would call the film “more nationalistic than jingoistic.” He continued, “Obviously, there are certain things that are being viewed out of context. jingoism is a matter of perspective. I call it nationalistic These lines in the context of a film are being told to a terrorist, that don’t keep pushing us… Like I said, please watch the film otherwise this can spur unnecessary controversy which the goal of the film isn’t.
“It is a happy Indian film, ‘Bharat ki picture hai ye’ and I would not want it to get any other attention other than the fact that it is a patriotic film,” he added.
The media interaction was attended by Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor. Fighter is set to release on Thursday.
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