Siddharth Anand says Fighter dialogues viewed ‘out of context’ as Pak actors slam trailer of Hrithik Roshan starrer: ‘Bharat ki picture hai ye’

Indian Express Entertainment is now on WhatsApp Channels. Follow us for the latest news, interviews, reviews, photos and more

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.

Read Fighter Movie Review and Release Live Updates here

“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.

From the homepage

Bihar SIR: Voter list shrinks by 6% after 3-month revision, about 68.5 lakh names deleted

Stalin’s caution in sparing Vijay backfires, actor issues challenge to CM: ‘Do whatever you want to do with me’

‘Had two options before me after winning elections…’: Omar says he would rather resign than get statehood with BJP as ally