Fighter director Siddharth Anand was asked his reaction to Pakistani artists’ dubbing the trailer as ‘anti-Pak’. He argued that the portions in the trailer were being viewed out of context
Fighter poster
- Fighter tells the story of a group of Indian Air Force (IAF) officers
- The director was asked his reaction to Pakistani artists’ calling the trailer ‘anti-Pak’
- Siddharth said he would call Fighter "more nationalistic than jingoistic"
Since its release last week, the Fighter trailer has dominated the online discourse, primarily for the blatantly jingoistic tone in its certain dialogues. But director Siddharth Anand would like the audience to not jump the gun and wait till tomorrow when the Hrithik Roshan-Deepika Padukone starrer hits the screens to draw any conclusion about the film.
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Fighter, also starring Anil Kapoor, tells the story of a group of Indian Air Force (IAF) officers that unite for a special mission. Going by the trailer, the film has references to the 26/11 terrorist attacks, the 2019 Pulwama attack, and the 2019 Balakot airstrike.
It’s not just the Indian audience, but also that of the neighbouring country, including Pakistani celebrities Hania Aamir and Adnan Siddiqui, who took offence at the trailer that featured a scene with Roshan’s character aggressively telling a Pakistani terrorist, “If India starts replying to your attacks, then every corner of your country will turn into India Occupied Pakistan.”
During a group interview here on Tuesday, Siddharth was asked his reaction to Pakistani artists’ dubbing the trailer ‘anti-Pak’. Arguing that the portions in the trailer were being viewed out of context, the director said he was happy people were talking about those lines and scenes as he had intended them to do.
“Some things that you are talking about that may have offended them, I would want them to see the film and see the context in which what has happened and what has been said and then react. This is out of context because in a trailer you put some lines, if I play out the full story in it, why will you come to the theatre? I will raise some questions, and to find answers to them you will come to the theatres. That’s what this has done, it has serviced exactly that motive. In a way I am happy it has done that, made people inquisitive. Come to the theatre, it will answer all your questions, you will understand the context of it, the emotion behind it, and you will be satisfied. Everyone will understand what we are saying,” he said.
Sidharth then stressed the point that the aerial actioner stood for the sentiment that the fight is against terrorism, not a particular country. “The primary thing I want to reiterate and what has been said in the film is that our war is not against a country, it is against terrorism. That is what Fighter stands for. It is a fight against terrorism, not against a particular country. That is emphasised throughout the film,” he said.
In a follow up, Mid-day asked the director if triggering the audience through a trailer was a new way of marketing a film, and how he would justify incorporating phrases like ‘India occupied Pakistan’ while claiming the film to be anti-terrorism, not against a country.
To which, Siddharth said he would call Fighter “more nationalistic than jingoistic." The filmmaker also mentioned that he didn’t want the film to get attached to any controversy, hence it was important that people reacted to it after watching it.
“Obviously, there are certain things that are being viewed out of context. Jingoism is a matter of perspective. I call it nationalistic. These lines in the context of a film are being told to a terrorist, that don’t keep pushing us… Like I said, please watch the film otherwise this can spur unnecessary controversy which the goal of the film isn’t. It is a happy Indian film, Bharat ki picture hai yeh, and I would not want it to get any other attention other than the fact that it is a patriotic film,” he said.
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