Bollywood actor Preity Zinta has responded to criticism surrounding her comments about the portrayal of women in her upcoming film Batwara 1947, urging audiences to watch the movie before forming conclusions about her character or director Rajkumar Santoshi’s approach.
Zinta, who is returning to Bollywood after an eight-year absence, recently discussed her role in the period drama and described how her character is frequently shown cooking, cleaning and stitching.
Her remarks generated discussion online about the representation of women in the film and the suggestion that women in 1947 were largely confined to domestic responsibilities.
Responding to an opinion article critical of that portrayal, Zinta said her comments about her experience making the film had been taken out of context.
She argued that the movie focuses on a particular family rather than attempting to make broad statements about the lives of all Indian women during that period.
Zinta also said it was unfair to judge either the film or Santoshi’s direction before seeing the finished movie and encouraged critics to watch it following its August 14 release before reaching conclusions.
The debate began after Zinta spoke about her experience portraying a woman in the 1947-set drama.
The actor said she had long wanted to work on a period film and was fascinated by the clothing, food and everyday life associated with the era.
During filming, however, Zinta said Santoshi would frequently instruct her character to perform household tasks such as preparing food, cleaning and stitching.
According to Zinta, when she questioned the repeated domestic activities, Santoshi explained that the character’s life was centred on her husband, children and home, while suggesting that becoming involved in the freedom struggle was one of the few alternatives available to women in the film’s setting.
Those remarks prompted criticism and a broader discussion about the historical roles of Indian women before and around independence.
Zinta has pushed back against interpretations that treat the comments as representative of the entire film, maintaining that the story concerns the circumstances of one particular family.
Batwara 1947 marks Zinta’s return to Hindi cinema eight years after her previous film.
Directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and produced by Aamir Khan, the period drama stars Zinta opposite Sunny Deol and also features veteran actor Shabana Azmi in a prominent role.
The film is scheduled to be released on August 14.
