Batwara 1947 Review: Sunny Deol, Shabana Azmi & A Film That Still Believes in India

In this week’s Rough Cut, Kaveree Bamzai reviews Rajkumar Santoshi’s Batwara 1947, starring Sunny Deol, Shabana Azmi and Ali Fazal. Set against the Partition of 1947, the film explores displacement, communal violence, faith and the idea that borders may divide countries, but not necessarily people and their shared histories. Is Batwara 1947 trapped in the filmmaking language of the 1980s and ’90s, or does its message make it relevant today? Kaveree Bamzai weighs in on Sunny Deol’s towering presence, Shabana Azmi’s performance, Ali Fazal’s cameo and the film’s theatrical treatment of Asghar Wajahat’s Jisne Lahore Nahin Dekhya. Watch the full review of Batwara 1947 on Rough Cut.