Batwara 1947, released on August 14, has tanked at the box office, with the film earning just Rs 53 crore so far. In contrast, Emraan Hashmi’s Awarapan 2, which released on the same day, has crossed the Rs 200 crore mark. Reflecting on the film’s poor box-office performance and its reception among audiences, actor Shabana Azmi, who plays an important role in Batwara 1947, said people may be unable to accept Sunny Deol playing a Muslim character. She compared it to Amitabh Bachchan, who, despite being the biggest star of his time, played Muslim characters with ease and was widely accepted in those roles.In a conversation with Zoom, Shabana Azmi said, “Firstly, I am very surprised at the total box office disaster that Batwara 1947 has been because I am surrounded by people who come and tell me they have loved the film. They tell me that they loved the message. A lot of them feel that it is very important to speak about humanity in today’s environment. On the other hand, people didn’t go to the theatre and the ones who did, they walked out with confused reactions.”She explained, “The thing is that you cannot accept Sunny Deol as a Muslim. In Coolie and in many other films, Amitabh Bachchan very comfortably played Muslim characters. In Deewaar, he put 786 and that was accepted. So how do we understand this? Are they creating an environment where such decisions are being taken on purpose? I am not able to understand.”ALSO READ | ‘I have a maths learning disability’: Tara Sutaria reveals dyscalculia diagnosisThe actor also highlighted that, in many cases, people who have watched the film may not have fully understood it. “I am surprised at how people are reacting to it. Even the ones who have watched the film think Sunny Deol is playing a Pakistani. He is not. It is simply not registering in their heads. Even Bushra Ahmed (Pakistani actor) objected to the film’s language. She said the Punjabi dialect used by the villain is not right. If both religions are not liking the film, it means it is something which is pure and beautiful.”Pointing to the current environment, the actor said, “The problem is that you cannot touch the subject of Hindustan and Pakistan in this setup, which is very disappointing. This is a film which is politically not incorrect in any way. You can’t find fault with it. Sunny has done a very good job. It is very surprising and also contradictory that when I meet people, why are they praising the film so much?”Batwara 1947, starring Sunny Deol and backed by Aamir Khan, is directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and was expected to be one of the biggest releases of the year. The film marked the reunion of Ghatak and Gadar collaborators Sunny Deol and Santoshi. It also marked Preity Zinta’s return to the big screen after an eight-year gap. However, none of these factors appear to have worked in the film’s favour at the box office. The film is reportedly made on a budget of Rs 120-150 crore.Story continues below this adThe year 2026 has seen a number of films attempting to portray the human side of war and the people caught on either side of the conflict, including Ikkis and Main Vaapas Aaunga. Both films were received warmly by audiences and earned positive reviews. A similarly humane approach was also evident in Border 2.