Despite mounting requests for his removal from prospective Bollywood productions, main actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh posted a video celebrating Sardaar Ji 3’s success in Pakistan, despite the film’s continued political controversy in India due to the inclusion of Pakistani actress Hania Aamir.
Due to increased cross-border tensions after the Pahalgam terror assault on April 22, which claimed 26 civilian lives, the Punjabi-language spooky comedy was not shown in Indian theaters when it was released internationally on June 27, 2025.
Sardaar Ji 3 did well abroad, particularly in Pakistan, where it broke the previous record for the greatest opening day collection of any Indian film, despite not being available in the Indian market.
Diljit reposts a popular video from Pakistani cinema.
Diljit reposted a video on Sunday that was first uploaded by Universal Cinemas, one of the biggest movie theater chains in Pakistan, and showed crowded theaters with a fervent audience responding to the movie.
The video made clear that Sardaar Ji 3 was showing twelve episodes on the largest screens in Islamabad and Lahore. Notably, Hania Aamir’s entrance sequence at the beginning of the video highlighted her significant part in spite of the criticism.
“12 shows on the biggest screens in the country” was the caption for the video. The audience’s reaction to Sardar Ji 3 was incredible. Come observe. Many see Diljit’s sharing of the video on his Instagram Stories as a tactful yet forceful response to the Indian backlash.
In two days, global earnings reach Rs 11 crore. The movie’s team revealed that Sardaar Ji 3 made Rs4.32 crore on its first day and Rs6.71 crore on its second, for a total of Rs11.03 crore worldwide within 48 hours of its premiere.
Following its historic first-day gross of Rs 4.5 crore, the biggest ever for an Indian film in the nation, and surpassing Salman Khan’s Sultan (2016), Pakistan has become the film’s most passionate market.
Pressure from the industry and political backlash increases
Since the release of the teaser earlier this month, which revealed Hania Aamir as the star, the movie has been enmeshed in controversy. Given the recent escalation of tensions between the two countries, a number of Indian film federations criticized the choice of a Pakistani actress.
Following this, industry leaders wrote to the producers of Border 2 requesting that Diljit Dosanjh be taken off the cast, and the Film Federation of Western Indian Cinema (FFWIC) called for a boycott of the movie.
Similarly, it has been reported that requests to replace Diljit in his upcoming film have been made to director Imtiaz Ali. Speaking to the media, Ali, however, backed the actor and referred to him as “a patriot,” lauding his honesty and professionalism.
Diljit explained in an interview with BBC Asian Network that the movie was filmed early this year, well before Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam incident. At the time, the circumstances were typical. I backed the producers’ choice to release the movie overseas because they had made significant investments,” he stated.
In a different interview, producer Gunbir Singh Sidhu echoed this opinion, saying that the movie was filmed in the UK in February, when there were no restrictions and diplomatic ties were comparatively steady. He did, however, add that he would refrain from using Pakistani performers in his next projects due to the current circumstances.
