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    EYE ON BOLLYWOOD                                                      AUGUST 28, 2026      |  The Indian Eye 36

                             Why Batwara 1947 is

                 connecting with audiences

                                   across generations

             Rajkumar Santoshi’s Partition drama is finding resonance across generations and communities by

                 combining patriotism with a deeply human story of loss, migration and communal harmony.

            OUR BUREAU                                                                                            film’s public reception.
                                                                                                                      That multi-generational appeal
            Mumbai
                                                                                                                  could  prove  important  for  a  film
                n a year when patriotic films often                                                               dealing with an event that belongs to
                compete for attention through                                                                     history but remains alive in the mem-
            Ispectacle and action, Batwara                                                                        ories of millions of families.
            1947  is  finding  a  different  route  to                                                                The  film’s  reach  has  also  ex-
            audiences — by revisiting one of the                                                                  tended beyond conventional movie
            most painful chapters in India’s histo-                                                               audiences. Santoshi recently hosted
            ry and placing human emotions at the                                                                  a special screening for spiritual lead-
            center of its story.                                                                                  ers from different faiths. According
                Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi                                                                     to the filmmaker, the process began
            and produced by Aamir Khan Pro-                                                                       when a friend watched the film and
            ductions, the Sunny Deol and Preity                                                                   spoke  about it to  a  mufti,  who  be-
            Zinta-starrer has struck an emotion-                                                                  came emotional after hearing about
            al chord with moviegoers in Mumbai,                                                                   the story and subsequently watched it.
            while also attracting appreciation                                                                        The spiritual leader’s response
            from people across different sections                                                                 —  that  the  film  was  important  and
            of  society.  The  response  suggests   The wider appeal of Batwara 1947 may lie in its ability to speak to different audiences for   that Santoshi had shown courage in
            that the story of Partition, nearly                                                                   making it — underlines the broader
            eight  decades  after  1947,  continues                  different reasons (File photo)               ambition of Batwara 1947. Its subject
            to have the power to connect with                                                                     is divisive by definition, but the film-
            contemporary audiences.           drop of the 1947 Partition and follows   But if there is one performance   makers appear to be attempting to
                For  many  viewers,  the  film’s   a family whose life is transformed as   that repeatedly stands out in the   use the Partition experience to make
            timing has been an important part   communities that had lived together   early audience response, it is that   a larger argument about coexistence.
            of  its  appeal.  Released  on  August   are  torn  apart.  It  is  a  familiar  his-  of Shabana Azmi. Viewers have de-  Ultimately, the wider appeal of
            14, just ahead of Independence Day,  torical setting, but one that remains   scribed her portrayal as authentic   Batwara  1947  may  lie  in  its  ability
            Batwara  1947  has  tapped  into  the   deeply relevant because Partition   and emotionally powerful, saying it   to speak to different audiences for
            patriotic mood surrounding August   continues to shape family memories,  appeared  as if she  was  actually liv-  different reasons. For younger view-
            15  while  simultaneously  asking  au-  politics  and  relations  between  com-  ing the experiences of her character   ers, it offers a cinematic entry point
            diences to remember the enormous   munities in India and Pakistan.  rather than merely performing them.  into a traumatic period they know
            human cost behind India’s indepen-    The response to the film has also   The  film  has  also  generated   primarily through textbooks and
            dence.                            been notable because viewers have   discussion because of its portrayal   family stories. For older generations,
                One Mumbai  viewer described   not been responding to just one as-  of Hindu-Muslim relations during   it can evoke memories passed down
            the  film  as  “very  emotional”  and   pect of it. For some, it is the patriotic   Partition. One viewer described the   through  parents  and  grandparents.
            “heart-touching”, saying it offered a   message. For others, it is the histor-  treatment as realistic while acknowl-  For  filmgoers  seeking  patriotic  en-
            glimpse into what ordinary people   ical narrative. Still others have been   edging that some audiences could   tertainment, it arrives at an appro-
            experienced during Partition and In-  drawn by the performances of an en-  find aspects of the story uncomfort-  priate  moment.  And  for  audiences
            dependence. Her decision to watch   semble cast led by Sunny Deol, Preity   able.                     concerned about communal harmo-
            the  film  was  also  influenced  by  her   Zinta and Shabana Azmi.     The film’s message has received   ny, it offers a reminder of the terrible
            preference for patriotic subjects.    Sunny Deol, in particular, ap-  an endorsement from veteran actor   consequences of division.
                That response points to one of   pears to have brought an established   Hema Malini, who described it as a   The  film’s  central  proposition
            the  film’s  biggest  strengths:  it  does   audience to the film. Viewers associ-  film  promoting  “humanity,  mutual   is therefore both historical and con-
            not rely solely on nostalgia for the   ate the actor with high-energy patri-  respect and harmony” rather than   temporary: remembering Partition
            freedom  struggle.  Instead,  it  con-  otic  and  action-oriented  roles,  and   hatred  and  division.  Her  apprecia-  is not only about remembering how
            nects patriotism with personal sto-  Batwara 1947 provides some of that   tion of Santoshi’s direction and the   India was divided, but also about un-
            ries of families separated by violence,  familiar cinematic appeal while giv-  performances of Sunny Deol, Sha-  derstanding the value of the human-
            fear and forced migration.        ing him an emotionally demanding   bana Azmi, Karan Deol and Preity   ity that existed before, during and
                The film is set against the back-  character.                   Zinta adds another dimension to the   after that division.

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