'If Because Of Trolls, We Replace...': Border 2 Producer Bhushan Kumar Defends Diljit Dosanjh's Casting After Sardaar Ji 3 Backlash

Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh, recently seen in Border 2 alongside Sunny Deol, Varun Dhawan and Ahan Shetty, is part of the sequel to JP Dutta's iconic 1997 film Border. Dosanjh, who plays Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon in the film, faced backlash in 2025 after the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) urged the makers to remove him from Border 2 over the casting of Pakistani actress Hania Aamir in his Punjabi film Sardaar Ji 3.

Bhushan Kumar Defends Diljit Dosanjh's Casting In Border 2

Reacting to the controversy, producer Bhushan Kumar defended Diljit amid trolling and said that from the very beginning, when the film was being conceptualised, Sunny Deol was already locked in, as Border 2 could not have been made without him.

He added that director Anurag Singh felt Diljit should be part of the film, Varun needed to be there, and Ahan would play a specific character, noting that the team was fortunate to have all the actors come on board.

"We had started the film, and then this pressure came. If, because of trolls, a company like us will start replacing people, then we shouldn’t make movies," Kumar told Hindustan Times.

'Diljit Dosanjh Is Not What You Think He Is': Anurag Singh

Director Anurag Singh, who has earlier worked with Diljit in several Punjabi films, said, "You watch him on the screen or watch his interviews. But you don’t know him personally, and what his beliefs are. So you assume something and say things. But he isn’t what you think he is."

Border 2 Box Office Collection Fay 4

Released on January 23, the war drama Border 2 crossed the Rs 250 crore mark at the global box office within just four days of its release and has earned Rs 180 crore net (Rs 212.5 crore gross) in India over its extended opening weekend.