Javed Akhtar, the legendary writer and lyricist, isn’t tiptoeing around the controversy. He’s standing up for Diljit Dosanjh, who’s been catching a lot of heat for working with Pakistani actress Hania Aamir in Sardaar Ji 3.
People have been calling for boycotts and bans, but Akhtar’s take is—come on, let’s not go overboard. The film wrapped up before the Pahalgam terror attack even happened. How was Diljit supposed to predict the future?
Javed Akhtar defends Diljit Dosanjh
Akhtar put it bluntly in an interview with a leading publication: “What do you expect the poor guy to do? The film was shot before all this. How could he have known? And if anyone’s losing money here, it’s Indians, not Pakistanis. So what’s the point?”
The veteran lyricist didn’t stop there—Akhtar said if Diljit had known about the attack, he wouldn’t have cast Hania, plain and simple. He’s urging the government and the censor board to use some common sense and empathy: let the film release this one time, since the work was done before the incident, but make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Diljit Dosanjh faces backlash over Sardaarji 3
Still, the backlash hasn’t let up. Diljit dropped the trailer for Sardaar Ji 3 featuring Hania, and it’s totally at odds with the ban put in place by Indian film bodies after the Pahalgam attack—no working with Pakistani artists, period. To add fuel to the fire, Hania’s own Indian fans turned on her after she called India’s Operation Sindoor “cowardly.”
Given the backlash, Diljit and his team have decided to release the film only outside India. They’ve said straight up that they can’t afford to scrap it—it’d be a huge financial disaster. They’ve also promised not to work with Pakistani artists again.
On top of all that, groups like FWICE and AICWA have been pushing for a total ban on Diljit—no shows, no new projects, nothing.
They even want him dropped from the next “Border” film. But, word is, he’s already filmed about half his scenes, and the producers aren’t looking for a replacement.
