Annu Kapoor starrer Hamare Baarah has come under the scanner for its bold content and theme. Many believe the film that talks about women’s sufferings is made to propagate hate against a certain religious community. As a result, the actors of the film have been at the receiving end of death threats with the women being subjected to rape threats. Kapoor, in fact, recently shared a video on social media asking for police protection.
In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, the veteran actor addresses the controversy surrounding Hamare Baarah and says, “At a personal and an impersonal level, I’m an atheist. My director and producers thought that I was the right person who would be able to implement their vision on celluloid. So, I tried my best to justify my character. I’m not bothered about the rest. Films are a make-believe world where I’m chosen as an artist and my job is to justify my art.”
Kapoor reveals that his reason for doing Hamare Baarah stemmed from the fact that he was being paid well and that according to him, is all that matters at the end of the day. “I’m not a religious man. I’ve got nothing to do with religion and politics. I did this film because they paid me well. Paisa diya, issi liye kara. I work for money. Par khada paise ke liye main na kabhi kisi ka jeb kaatunga, na chori karunga, na gala ghotunga aur na apne desh ko bhechunga,” he states.
The Vicky Donor and Dream Girl actor believes that detractors are too quick to make judgments on the film even before watching it. “People talk about propaganda all the time. I’m not bothered about it. I would urge people to watch the film first and then decide what our film stands for. They haven’t watched it, so I don’t understand why they’re judging it,” he questions.
Recently, Ajit Pawar’s NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) demanded that the film be banned from releasing in Maharashtra. On the other hand, the Muslim religious organization Raza Academy condemned the film and demanded the censor board immediately ban it as it portrays Muslims as oppressors.
Reacting to these, Kapoor says, “Censor board is a competent authority who has passed our film. We should impart them so much power that when they pass a film, it should remain unquestioned. Film is an audio-visual medium. Whoever wants to raise their voice against our film, should do so with words and not abuse or gun. If they bring a gun, we also shall bring a gun. The fact that people are abusing our film means that they’ve already lost and we’ve won.”
For the unversed, the CBFC has granted Hamare Baarah a U/A certification. They also asked the makers to make 11 changes starting with the title of the film. It was earlier christened Hum Do Hamare Baarah. Hamare Baarah is slated for release on June 7.
