Imtiaz Ali defends Diljit Dosanjh amid row over casting Hania Aamir in Sardaar Ji 3; calls him son of the soil

Imtiaz Ali backs Diljit Dosanjh

When requested about how Sardaar Ji 3 was launched solely overseas within the aftermath of the Pahalgam assault and the way Diljit’s love for the nation was referred to as into query, Imtiaz stated, “I can not say a lot on the row, however since I do know Diljit, I can say that uss mein deshbhakti ka jazbaa poora bhara hua hai (He is a patriot at coronary heart). He is a son of the soil. You can see in any respect his concert events, he exhibits up with the Indian flag. He isn’t a man who fakes issues. Fakeness ke saath woh kuch nahi karta hai (He does not pretend issues). No one requested him to do it. At the top of all his concert events, he says, Main hoon Punjab, with the Indian flag.”

Imtiaz additionally defended Diljit, stating that casting somebody isn’t the actor’s determination. “I do not know the way it went, however I do know that uske andar desh prem bahut zyada hai (He loves his nation an excessive amount of). Jo log dekh paayenge unke andar ke sach ko, unko ye samajh mein aa jaayega (People who can see the reality, will perceive him),” he added. 

The Sardaar Ji 3 casting row

Sardaar Ji 3 was launched in theatres on 27 June however was not launched in India. On 22 June, when the trailer for the movie was dropped and it featured Hania, Diljit acquired flak, given the federal government’s diktat to ban Pakistani artists and creators in India after the Pahalgam assault. 

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees even despatched a letter to Imtiaz, ‘strongly interesting’ to him to rethink casting Diljit in his upcoming movie. They additionally appealed to the federal government of India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to blacklist the makers of Sardaar Ji 3 and Diljit from the movie trade, asking for his or her passports and Indian citizenship to be revoked.