By Shreeja Bhattacharya
The controversies surrounding the casting of Pakistani actress Hania Aamir in Diljit Dosanjh’s Punjabi film ‘Sardaarji 3’ are only getting bigger. Dosanjh has lost his spot as the internet’s most favourite person, and a lot of his fans and followers have turned against him for deciding to feature a Pakistani actress, especially after the Pahalgam attack. The entertainment industry in both countries, especially in India, has always been impacted by tensions between India and Pakistan- this too is an effect of that, specifically because there is a strict ban on Pakistani artists working in Indian films after the recent escalations. While netizens are taking a stand against Dosanjh, veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah publicly took a stand for the singer/actor. Shah, taking to his official Facebook account, wrote about his thoughts pertaining to the ongoing controversies about Dosanjh. In a small message, he very articulately pointed out that Diljit is not responsible for the casting of the movie and that all of the hate that the singer is getting at the moment is perhaps propaganda orchestrated by a certain political party that had been waiting to attack him. The veteran actor wrote, “I STAND FIRMLY WITH DILJIT. The dirty tricks deptt of Jumla Party has been awaiting a chance to attack him. They think they’ve got it at last. He was not responsible for the casting of the film, the director was. But no one knows who he is whereas Diljit is known the world over, and he agreed to the cast because his mind is not poisoned. What these goons want is to put an end to personal interaction between the people of India and Pakistan.” He further added, “I have close relatives and some dear friends there and no one can stop me from meeting them or sending them love whenever i feel like it. And my response to those who will say “Go to Pakistan” is “GO TO KAILASA.” Diljit has already publicly come out and stated that how the film was shot much before the tensions rose between India and Pakistan, netizens are not convinced by the explanation. The film starring Dosanjh, Hania Aamir and Neeru Bajwa in pivotal roles will not be releasing in India but will have an overseas release on June 27. Javed Akhtar too had earlier taken a stand for Diljit.