Siddharth Anand Defends Controversial Fighter Dialogues Amid Backlash from Pak Stars: 'I Am Happy...'

Director Siddharth Anand addressed the strong reactions he and his film, Fighter’s trailer has received from Pakistani actors. Since the trailer release, several Pakistani actors took to social media and criticised the dialogues in the trailer. Stars such as Hania Aamir, Adnan Siddiqui and Zara Noor Abbas called the trailer aggressive and accused it featuring anti-Pakistan sentiments. While the filmmaker had reacted to Hania Aamir’s post, in a recent press meet, Siddharth defended the trailer and the film.

The director defended the dialogues by saying that people who are offended by the dialogues should watch the film to understand the context of the film. “It is out there in public domain, so it is nothing new we have done. Somethings that you are talking about… which may have offended them, I would want them to see the film and see the context in which what has happened and what has been said and then react. This is out of context, because it’s in a trailer. If I play out the full story in it, why will you come to the theatre? I will raise some questions, and to get the answer you will come in the theatres. That’s what this has done, it has serviced exactly that motive. In a way I am happy it has done that, made people inquisitive,” he said.

“Come to the theatre, it will answer all your questions, you will understand the context of it, the emotion behind it, and you will be satisfied. Everyone will understand what we are saying. The primary thing I want to reiterate and what has been said in the film is that our war is not against a country, it is against terrorism. That is what Fighter stands for. It is a fight against terrorism, not against a particular country. That is emphasised throughout the film,” Siddharth added.

For the unversed, the trailer of Fighter was released on January 15. It presented Hrithik and Deepika as Squadron Leaders Patty and Minni. The two fly helicopters and fighter jets as they teach a lesson to the terrorists hiding in Pakistan.

Fighter will hit theatres on January 25, 2024.