Sunny Deol on Rajkumar Santoshi reunion, first film with Shabana Azmi

Sunny Deol opened up about reuniting with filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi and working with actor Shabana Azmi for the first time at the Batwara 1947 trailer launch. The actor also said he dedicated the Partition drama to his mother and to mothers across the world.(Right) Sunny Deol with (Left) Rajkumar Santoshi at Batwara 1947 trailer launch. (Credit: AFP)Actor Sunny Deol spoke about reunion, emotion and memory at the trailer launch of Batwara 1947 on Tuesday. He reflected on working with filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi again after many years and sharing screen space with co-star Shabana Azmi for the first time. The 68-year-old said he had dedicated the film to his mother and to mothers everywhere, adding that the bond shown in the film with Azmi felt like that of a mother and son.Backed by Aamir Khan Productions, Batwara 1947 is set against the backdrop of the 1947 Partition. The trailer shows a family torn apart by violence, displacement and upheaval, while also holding on to compassion, resilience and hope. The film also stars Preity Zinta, Karan Deol, Ali Fazal and Abhimanyu Singh.Working with Rajkumar Santoshi againSpeaking about the 70-year-old, Deol said the two have always shared the same wavelength when it comes to stories and dialogue. “Raj and I have always had a combination...The story is good, the dialogue is good, and the wavelength is the same, and we get excited. And then we try our best to challenge each other while we are working. There are retakes after retakes. But the end result is very good,” he said.He added that their earlier work together is still remembered and said that it had given them the chance to make Batwara again. "God has been kind. All three films (Ghayal, Damini, Ghatak) are remembered by everyone, and because of that, we got a chance to make Batwara again. I don't know why a gap comes up, but it is good that we are working together,” he said. Batwara 1947 marks the reunion of Santoshi and Deol nearly three decades after they last worked together.Deol said he is certain he and Santoshi will work together again in future. He said films are always linked to society and added, “We never have a controversy about anything, nor will we ever want to do it, nor will we ever do such characters.” He said this is why, in his view, their stories remain pure. “And every person who sees it, he gets connected to some emotion, he sees his own worth, and he realises what was the moment in his life when he was like this or not. So I think that is the kind of cinema I love to do and I have been doing,” he said.Working with Shabana AzmiDeol said the film gave him the chance to work with several strong actors, including Shabana Azmi for the first time. “I worked with Shabana ji for the first time, and it was a pleasure working with her. It was just like a relationship between a mother and a son, and that's the beauty of the film,” he said.Returning to the emotional centre of the film, Deol said he had dedicated it to his mother and to mothers across the world. “I have also posted that I dedicate this film to my mom and all the mothers in the world. And when you watch the film, you will realise. I know that after watching the film, you will go to your mother and hug her,” he said.A story set during PartitionDirected by Rajkumar Santoshi, the film is set during one of the most turbulent periods in the subcontinent's history. The trailer shows families being forced to leave their homes as fear and violence spread across communities. It follows characters caught in rising communal tension, where identity, religion and even the right to one's home become matters of survival. Shabana Azmi plays an elderly woman who becomes a source of strength for her family, while Preity Zinta plays a woman trying to hold her loved ones together during the crisis.One of the trailer's key lines underlines the film's message of humanity and motherhood. Deol says, “Maa ko Hindu Musalman mein na batiye. Maa apne aap mein ek mazhab hai,” which the trailer translates as, “Don't divide a mother into Hindu or Muslim. A mother is a religion in herself.” The trailer highlights the human cost of Partition while also holding on to compassion and hope amid conflict.With music by AR Rahman and lyrics by Javed Akhtar, Batwara 1947 is scheduled to release in cinemas worldwide on August 14.- EndsPublished By: Priyanka SharmaPublished On: Jul 28, 2026 15:40 IST