Diljit Dosanjh’s much anticipated film Sardaar Ji 3, co-starring Pakistani actress Hania Aamir, is currently scheduled to release overseas only on June 27, 2025, amid rising political tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack.
The upcoming film has found itself at the center of a political storm and the Diljit is now facing severe backlash. The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take strict action against the film’s team for casting Pakistani actress Hania Aamir in the lead.
In an interview with BBC Asian Network, Diljit broke his silence, saying the film was shot before the geopolitical tensions escalated and clarified that the decision to release the film only overseas was made by the producers to avoid further complications.
“Jab yeh film bani thi tab situation sab theek tha. We shot this in Feb and then everything was fine larified that the decision to release the film only overseas was made by the producers to avoid further complications. Uske baad, bhut saari badi cheezen humare haath mein nahi hai. Toh producers ne decide kiya ki film obviously ab India toh nahi lagegi, toh overseas release karte hain. Toh producers ka bahut paisa laga hua hai aur jab yeh film bann rahi thi tab aisa kuch tha nahi. (When this film was made, everything was fine. We shot it in February and things were okay back then. After that, a lot of big things happened that are beyond our control. So the producers decided that the film obviously won’t be released in India now, so they’ll release it overseas. The producers have invested a lot of money, and when the film was being made, nothing like this was happening).”
He further added, “They know there will be a loss because you’re removing an entire territory. Even when I signed the film, everything was fine. Now the situation is not in our hands. So if the producers want to release it abroad, I support them.”
On Sunday, Diljit dropped the trailer on Instagram, while the trailer has been uploaded to YouTube, it appears to be geo-blocked in India, showing the message, “The uploader has not made this video available in your country.” Teasers and songs from the film are however accessible to Indian users.
The film also stars Manav Vij, Gulshan Grover, Jasmin Bajwa, Sapna Pabbi and others in prominent roles. It is directed by Amar Hundal.
