Rohit Shetty responds to criticism on portrayal of Muslims in Sooryavanshi

A few viewers had questioned the portrayal of Muslims in Rohit Shetty's 'Sooryanvanshi', the director has responded with a strong statement.

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New Delhi: Director Rohit Shetty recently spoke about his box-office hit actioner 'Sooryavanshi' and the discussions around the portrayal of Muslims in the film. In the interview with a leading daily, he questioned why there was no uproar when there was a Hindu villain in his previous cop universe films.

He told the Quint, "If I ask you one question - Jaykant Shikre (the antagonist in Singham, essayed by Prakash Raj) was a Hindu, then came in this universe (Rohit Shetty’s cop universe which includes Singham, Singham Returns, and Simmba), a Hindu Godman who was the villain. In Simmba, Durva Yashwant Ranade (played by Sonu Sood) was a Maharashtrian. In these three films, negative forces were Hindu. Why wasn’t that a problem?"

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Shetty also added that the filmmakers were not talking about caste.

He added, "If there is a terrorist who is from Pakistan, what caste will he be? We (creators of Sooryavanshi) are not talking about caste. There is a thought with which a film is made. We never thought that way. Why is it being discussed? If we have a sleeper cell then what caste will a sleeper cell be? Why is a bad and good person being linked to caste, when we as makers never thought about it? If it was wrong, everyone would have talked about it...few people are talking, it is their point of view which they need to change, not us."

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Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif's 'Sooryavanshi' is riding high on success. The actioner helmed by Rohit Shetty has had a great start at the Box Office in the domestic markets, ending the dry spell induced by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. 

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Akshay Kumar is seen in a cop avatar in Rohit Shetty's directorial venture 'Sooryavanshi' which also stars Katrina Kaif in the lead role opposite him. 'Sooryavanshi' is the third film in Rohit Shetty's cop universe after Ajay Devgn's 'Singham' and Ranveer-starrer 'Simmba'.