Amid controversy over his casting in Border 2 following uproar over Sardaar Ji 3, actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh on Tuesday shared a video of himself on Instagram from the sets of the upcoming war drama putting all rumours of his exit from the film to rest.
In what has come as a relief for the makers of Border 2, they have been granted permission to release Border 2 with Diljit in it. BN Tiwari, president of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) tells us, “We had three-four meetings with T-Series (co-producers of Border 2) in which they told us the film is nearing completion. They also informed us that with Diljit only two-three days of work was left. Since the film doesn’t star any Pakistani artist and is a patriotic movie, we agreed and allowed them to go ahead.”
Ashoke Pandit, president of the Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association says, “T Series said it would not have been possible to change the cast for them. Not just because of the losses, but mainly because it’s a big cast of actors, so Bhushan (Kumar, owner of T Series) said matching dates of every actor for a re-shoot would mean the film will get pushed. We are not here to harass producers, we understood. But the non-cooperation with Diljit continues.”
In a previous letter by the FWICE addressed to the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah, the federation had requested that permission to shoot Border 2 at the NDA premises in Pune be revoked. The reason cited was Diljit’s presence in the film. However, Ashoke now confirms that their “demand for the permission to shoot at NDA to be revoked has been withdrawn, and the shoot can continue.”
Meanwhile, BN Tiwari mentions no new projects can feature Diljit. “All new projects starring Diljit will be opposed, especially where a change in cast is possible. Director Imtiaz Ali’s next film, which features Diljit, can’t go ahead if he stars in it.”
