Anupam Kher To NDTV On Diljit Dosanjh: "Can't See My Sister's Sindoor Destroyed For Art, I'm Not That Great"

NDTV

a day ago

Veteran actor Anupam Kher, who is awaiting the release of his upcoming directorial Tanvi The Great, is the latest film personality to express his opinion on the Sardaar Ji 3 controversy, starring Punjabi actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh and Pakistani actor Hania Aamir.
In an interview with NDTV, Anupam Kher said while Diljit Dosanjh can exercise his right to freedom of speech and expression, he wouldn't do the same for the sake of art, especially when it comes to Pakistan.
"It's his fundamental right. He has full freedom to exercise his right and he should be given freedom to exercise it. I can say from my point of view that maybe I wouldn't do what he did," he said.
Likening India to his family and Pakistan to his neighbour, the actor-filmmaker said, "I'd say, 'You slapped my father but you sing very well, you play very good tabla, so you come and perform at my house'. But I wouldn't be able to do that. I am not that great. I won't hit him back, but I won't give him the right... The rule that I practice at my home, I practice in my country. I am not that great that I could see my family get hit or see my sister's sindoor get destroyed for art. Those who can do so, they have all the freedom."
Diljit Dosanjh has been at the centre of a controversy ever since it was confirmed that Pakistani actor Hania Aamir stars in a prominent role in his Punjabi film Sardaar Ji 3.
While there is longstanding ban on Pakistani artistes from working in Indian film productions since the 2016 Uri terror attack, Hania Aamir's casting in Sardaar Ji 3 -- which also has Diljit Dosanjh as a producer -- led to a major furore since it came months after the terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir.
Last week, Bollywood star Ajay Devgn weighed in on the Sardaar Ji 3 controversy.
"I don't know where the trolling comes from (or) what is right and what is wrong. I'm not in his shoes to comment on that. He would've had his problems, and people are thinking from their point of view.
"So, when you've two different points of view, then you can sit and solve it together. I'll not blame anybody or say that, this is right or wrong; they need a conversation," Ajay Devgn told reporters at the trailer launch press conference of Son of Sardaar 2.
Following the row, Sardaar Ji 3 made its debut in overseas territories, including Pakistan, on June 27 and skipped release in India.