“Sarbjit” has opened to mixed reviews and the media is critical of casting Aishwarya Rai as Dalbir Kaur, the sister of Sarabjit Singh, who fought for the release of her brother from a Pakistani jail. The actor turned up in the city to explain her point of view. “I did not meet Dalbir Kaur before the film’s shooting. I wanted to meet her as a person and not as an actor as it would be selfish on my part; moreover Omung (Kumar) showed me her video recordings and the excellent writings done on the subject by the media. I went through the incredible documentation. Going through Dalbir’s story and ordeal I could relate to her feelings. It was dil ki pukar . She has great personality and struggled so much to get her brother back. I could empathise with what she had gone through. In her spirit and energy she is amazing; she touches the core of the heart,” said Aishwarya, while speaking to the media in the Capital.
And the actor, prodded by the filmmaker Omung Kumar, went a step further while explaining the first shot of Sarbjit. “The first scene featuring Randeep and I was an important moment cinematically. We are meeting after a gap of 18 years and it was challenging as we had to set the tone of the film. On that day, Dalbir Kaur visited the sets. She met Randeep and was very emotional as he was playing her brother. When I met her I did not feel like an actor but as a human being could sympathise with her suffering.”
On the charge that her real life Sikh character did not look authentic as she could not get her accent right, Aishwarya said, “In real life, Dalbir had to speak to so many people in Delhi to ensure her brother’s release that she incorporated Hindi words in her language. Also ours is a Hindi film; so we can take liberty.” She even differentiated how bhai and ghar could be uttered in both Hindi and Punjabi.
Explaining how Sarabjit’s release kept getting postponed, Randeep said: “Government wanted to help but some incidents worked against it. Pokhran was carried out and then Pakistan retaliated with its nuclear test. Then there was bloodshed at Kargil. Whenever hope for Sarabjit’s release started gaining momentum there were obstacles like 26/11 Mumbai Attacks, hanging of Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru. But all is not lost. We should work on release of prisoners on both sides.”
Randeep said it was like two elephants fighting each other. “And in their fight, it is the common man who gets in between. But Dalbir Kaur’s struggle has not gone in vain as due to her efforts prisoners from both countries have been released.”
Emotions of Sarabjit’s family had to be kept in mind while working on the film as all hopes to bring him alive failed . “Omung shared responsibilities with all of us to hold on to that sensitivity throughout the film. We are all like-minded people. Everyone has contributed from soul. Dalbir saw the film and felt we had portrayed Sarabjit the right way. It was gratifying for us,” said Aishwarya.
Randeep made an impassioned appeal to the Pakistani government to release Nehal Hamid Ansari, an Indian prisoner. “Hamid is not a spy but has been in jail in Pakistan for three-and-a-half years. He had gone to meet his beloved. Pakistani government should release him as a goodwill gesture.”
