INDIAN filmmaker Rohit Shetty’s latest offering, Sooryavanshi (2021), has been a huge hit in the country, but British Asian star Riz Ahmed has expressed his disgust at the ‘Islamophobic’ Bollywood film, which stars Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif in the lead roles.
Journalist Rana Ayyub recently wrote an article in The Washington Post highlighting the ‘Islamophobic’ elements in the big-ticket cop-drama. Highlighting it on social media, she wrote, “One of the biggest films that is making waves in Indian theatres is yet another exercise in criminal Islamophobia that seeks to normalise (Indian prime minister) Narendra Modi's anti-Muslim agenda. My latest on Sooryavanshi that feeds into the Muslim as the terrorist narrative.”
Multiple award-winning actor Ahmed, who next stars in Michael Pearce’s sci-fi film Encounter, retweeted Ayyub’s tweet on his page with a emoji showing disgust. He has previously noted how Muslim characters are mostly portrayed in negative light in English-language films.
When an Indian publication asked director Shetty about the portrayal of Muslim characters in the film, he in turn questioned why his Hindu villains in previous films Singham (2011), Singham 2 (2014) and Simmba (2018), did not draw similar reactions. Shetty said there was no specific agenda in his film's villains being from a certain caste or religion in Sooryavanshi.
Produced by Reliance Entertainment, Rohit Shetty Picturez, Dharma Productions and Cape of Good Hope, Sooryavanshi is the first big-ticket Bollywood film to be released in cinemas after an 18-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The film also has cameos by Ranveer Singh and Ajay Devgn who appear in their characters from Singham and Simmba, respectively.
Sooryavanshi has shattered several box office records ever since its release on November 5, coinciding with Diwali.
The film has also been performing well in several other key overseas markets.
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