The trailer of Ashutosh Gowariker‘s Panipat released two days ago and it managed to create a lot of noise on social media. The film which is based on the third battle of Panipat stars Arjun Kapoor, Kriti Sanon and Sanjay Dutt. While the trailer has created a lot of hype, it has also raised questions in Afghanistan. Sanjay is seen essaying the role of Ahmad Shah Abdali, an Afghan king and the founder of Durrani kingdom and his portrayal in the trailer is what has concerned Afghanistan, reported Bollywood Hungama.
The Afghanistan embassy is of the view that Abdali character would be misinterpreted and thus they have demanded a meeting with I&B Minister, Prakash Javadekar. A letter concerning the same was sent to the Ministry of External Affairs.
Below are the exerts from the letter:
Since the film is related to former Afghan emperor Ahmad Shah Abdali, any insensitive/ distorted depiction of his character might provoke emotions of Afghans which could be unfairly exploited by others to adversely affect the trust and harmony that exists so well among the people of two countries.
Apart from that, the former Afghanistan Ambassador to India Dr Shaida Abdali also tweeted to Dutt expressing his concerns.
He wrote:
Dear @duttsanjay Ji: Historically, the Indian cinema has been extremely instrumental in strengthening the Indo-Afghan ties – I very much hope that the film “Panipat” has kept that fact in mind while dealing with this important episode of our shared history! https://t.co/8HKLei2ce1
— Dr Shaida Abdali (@ShaidaAbdali) November 4, 2019
While Dutt plays Abdali in this magnum opus, Arjun and Kriti will be seen essaying the role of Sadashiv Rao Bhau and Parvati Bai respectively. What are your thoughts on this one!