Exclusive: Diljit Dosanjh's Sardaar Ji 3 Will Lose Nearly Half Its Revenue Over Hania Aamir Gamble, Says Producer

NDTV

4 hours ago

New Delhi:
After the severe backlash towards Sardaar Ji 3 over the casting of Pakistani actress Hania Aamir opposite Diljit Dosanjh, producer and Managing Director of White Hill Studios Gunbir Singh Sidhu opens up on casting her and the harsh criticism being faced from the film association.
Diljit Dosanjh was widely trolled on social media and elsewhere after Hania Aamir's casting came to light.
Film bodies in India have called for a ban on the film in the country in light of the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025.
FWICE, a film industry worker's union, issued a new directive against Diljit Dosanjh and fellow Sardaar Ji 3 producers Gunbir Singh Sidhu, Manmord Sidhu and director Amar Hundal after the trailer of the film revealed that Pakistani actor Hania Aamir is part of its cast.
Reacting to the social media outburst and such harsh reactions, the producer tells NDTV, "Those who are actively involved in the film industry and are aware of day-to-day activities, know that this film was shot in February-March 2025 itself. We shot it in the UK. There was no such atmosphere at that time, work was going on normally between the two countries. The whole atmosphere was normal. There was no restriction from the Government of India or any other institution."
Speaking about how the film's team made a conscious decision not to release the film in India after the Pahalgam attack, he adds, "When we came to know about this attack, we decided that we would not release the film India, because we did not want to hurt the sentiments of our people in any way. We too were hurt by this incident. Keeping this honour in mind, we decided that the film will be released only overseas because our major investment is there. There was no restriction from any government overseas, so it was decided to release there. We did not put the trailer on YouTube in India, nor did we do any kind of promotional activities."
The producer also addresses the issue of whether as an Indian he would like to offer work to Pakistani actors in Indian films.
He adds that if attacks are being made by Pakistan's terrorist organizations, and the Government of India decides to break all ties with them, then he would stand by his country's decision.
Gunbhir Singh Sidhu says, "I have no two opinions on this. If there is a country that is also working with us and still such attacks are happening from their side, then this is thankless behaviour. And I do not support it."
When asked about why the Punjabi film industry has continued to cast Pakistani actors, despite being banned several times by organisations such as FWICE and IMPPA, the director reiterates that it was not the case always.
He says, "That had this been the case always, how would films that have been made in the last four-five years with Pakistani actors ever get a censor certificate? When the censor board is giving clearance, it means that there is no such valid ban. Still, recently, a film like Abir Gulaal got a censor certificate which has big names like Fawad Khan and Vaani Kapoor, if there was a problem, it would not have been passed by the censor board."
After the Pahalgam attack on April 22, 2025, that took the lives of 26 innocent civilians, India responded with Operation Sindoor which was targeted at nine terror hideouts, four in Pakistan and five in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Pakistani actresses Mahira Khan and Hania Aamir had strongly condemned it on social media.
Gunbir Singh Sidhu reacts, "I believe that they should not have made such statements. But I cannot comment more than that. But I would say that those things should not have happened and she hit below the belt."
Furthermore, the producer speaks about how much loss Sardaar Ji 3 would incur after its ban in India.
He says, "My previous film Jatt and Juliet 3 came out last year which was led by Diljit and Neeru. It was the first Punjabi film to do a business of Rs 100 crore at the worldwide box office. 40% of that came from business in India and 60% overseas. So you assume that we have a business of about 40 crore from India and 60 crore from abroad. In such a situation, it is clear that 40% of our revenue loss has happened."
"Now we have taken this decision with full strength that we will not work with any Pakistani artist from now on," concludes the Sardaar Ji 3 producer.