Actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh has been at the receiving end of online trolling following the release of the trailer of his upcoming film Sardaarji 3, which features Pakistani actress Hania Aamir.
“Sardaar Ji 3 Releasing 27th June OVERSEAS Only 🌍 Fadh Lao Bhoond Dian Lattan,” reads Diljit’s post on Instagram.
The post received strong reactions, with one social media user commenting, “I will never watch this….Country first.” Another Instagram user called Diljit a “country traitor”.
The trolling comes in the wake of heightened border tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 22 terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and India’s retaliatory Operation Sindoor. Users questioned why Diljit was sharing the screen with Hania, who had condemned India's air strike on Pakistan in 2019, following cross-border tensions at the time.
Hania had called the mission a ‘cowardly act’ led by the Indian army.
Amid growing chorus for a ban on Pakistani artists in Indian cinema following the Pahalgam attack, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) had urged the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to withhold certification of Sardaarji 3 in May.
Sardaarji 3 is jointly produced by Gunbir Singh Sidhu and Manmord Sidhu of White Hill Studios, in collaboration with Story Time Productions.
The franchise began in 2015 with the release of Sardaar Ji, which starred Diljit Dosanjh as a quirky ghost hunter named Jaggi, alongside Mandy Takhar and Neeru Bajwa. Its success led to a sequel, Sardaar Ji 2, where Dosanjh took on a triple role, starring opposite Monica Gill and Sonam Bajwa.
Both the previous instalments were directed by Rohit Jugraj Chauhan.
Sardaarji 3 is slated for an overseas-only release on June 27 and will not be screened in India.