# Hema Malini calls Batwara 1947 ‘brilliant’, theatre veteran flags concerns 2026-08-17T19:17:41+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Hema Malini has praised Sunny Deol's film Batwara 1947 as 'simply brilliant' in a social media review. She said the film conveys what the nation needs today and hailed the direction by Rajkumar Santoshi along with outstanding performances by Sunny Deol and Shabana Azmi. The film, produced by Aamir Khan Productions, released on Independence Day. However, Preeta Mathur, who has staged the original play Jis Lahore Nai Vekhya for over 20 years, told Bollywood Hungama that the film is 'nice and engaging' but raised several concerns. Mathur said the character of the old woman, played by Shabana Azmi, is shown as emotionally soft in the film compared to the stronger version in the play. She also noted that a scene where the old woman is dragged out of her house does not appear in the play and 'doesn't give a good impression of Lahore'. Hindustan Times reports that Batwara 1947 has earned Rs 37 crore in its opening weekend and is competing with Emraan Hashmi's Awarapan 2. The newspaper's review noted that while the film is thought-provoking, it could have benefited from a tighter second half. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com - bollywoodhungama.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-18T08:05:44+00:00. Tags: Aamir Khan, Batwara 1947, Hema Malini, Rajkumar Santoshi, Shabana Azmi, Sunny Deol Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/hema-malini-calls-batwara-1947-brilliant-praises-sunny-deol-and-shabana-azmi/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/hema-malini-calls-batwara-1947-brilliant-praises-sunny-deol-and-shabana-azmi/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/