Sardaarji 3 controversy: Singing sensation Diljit Dosanjh faces bizarre backlash over film casting choice
Diljit Dosanjh is facing calls for a ban on all his activities in India, and even the revocation of his citizenship, after a trailer for his forthcoming film revealed his co-star to be Pakistani actor Hania Aamir.
On 22 June, the actor and musician shared a trailer for Sardaar Ji 3, the third installment in the Punjabi horror film series in which Dosanjh plays a ghost hunter named Jaggi. The trailer features Aamir in several scenes.
Two major film labour unions – the Federation of Western India Cine Employees and All Indian Cine Workers Association – have released statements calling for a boycott of Dosanjh.
Aamir was one of several Pakistani actors and celebrities, along with Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan and Ali Zafar, who found their social media accounts blocked in India in the wake of the 22 April attack in Kashmir that killed 26 people. It was the worst terror attack in decades targeting civilians in the restive Himalayan region where an anti-India insurgency has raged since 1989.
India’s counterterrorism agency has claimed the three gunmen who carried out the attack were Pakistani nationals. Pakistan has consistently denied involvement.
India cited the attack as justification for launching airstrikes in Pakistan a few days later, triggering a military conflict that brought the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours to the brink of an all-out war.
Although a ceasefire, which US president Donald Trump took credit for mediating, ended the fighting after four days, ties between the two nations remain frozen.
Shortly after the attack, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees had declared a blanket boycott of Pakistani artists, singers and technicians participating in any Indian film or entertainment projects.
In a statement shared with The Independent, FWICE claimed that Dosanjh had “brazenly insulted the Indian film industry and disrespected national sentiment”.
“This act or theirs is not only a direct defiance of the FWICE’s official ban on Pakistani artists but also a shameful betrayal of our country and its people, especially at a time when our nation is mourning the brutal murder of innocent Indian tourists in Pahalgam by Pakistan-backed terrorists,” it said.
“They have chosen to align themselves with the enemy – and there’s no place in the Indian film industry for such individuals. FWICE will not stand silent as our tricolour is disrespected. We will expose and oppose every attempt to normalise cultural exchange with those who glorify terrorism and denounce India.”
Additionally, the union demanded that the Indian government revoke the citizenship of Dosanjh and his producers. “We respectfully urge that their passports be revoked without delay and they be permanently barred from availing any rights, privileges or representation associated with Indian citizenship and national identity”, it said in the statement.
In a video on X, All Indian Cine Workers Association president Suresh Shyamlal Gupta said: “You are taking actors from a terrorist country. We will protest against this. We are also appealing to everyone from the industry to stop working with Diljit. We are boycotting him, his songs and any future concerts.”
The Independent has reached out to the association and Dosanjh for comment.
In a message on social media after the Kashmir attack, Aamir had said: “My heart is with the innocent lives affected by the recent events. In pain, in grief, and in hope we are one. When innocent lives are lost, the pain is not theirs alone – it belongs to all of us. No matter where we come from, grief speaks the same language. May we choose humanity, always.”
Aamir has not previously worked in India, but her Pakistani dramas are popular with fans in the neighbouring country.
Dosanjh, who is also producing the forthcoming film, said in a social media post that it would only be released overseas.
His co-producer, Gunbir Singh Sidhu, told India Today: “Although our film was shot well before the India Pakistan conflict, we are not releasing the film in India keeping in mind the present situation and sentiments of India and Indian people.”
The Sardaar Ji 3 trailer has been made unavailable for viewing in India but can be seen on Dosanjh’s Instagram account.
While Dosanjh has not commented publicly on the backlash, he has shared an Instagram post titled “Censored before release?” talking about his other movie Punjab 95, which India’s film certification body has reportedly demanded make nearly 120 cuts before it can be certified for release.
In the wake of the 2019 Pulwama attack in which over 40 Indian paramilitary personnel were killed by a suicide bomber in Kashmir, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees had demanded a boycott of all Pakistani artists and crew by the Indian film industry.
The union renewed its call after the April attack, bringing uncertainty around the fate of Fawad Khan’s film Abir Gulaal, which was set for a May release.
