Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui calls Hrithik Roshan-starrer Fighter 'flop show': Do not insult audience’s intelligence
Adnan Siddiqui weighs in on the box office collection of Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone's aerial action film Fighter, weeks after slamming Fighter trailer.
Actor Adnan Siddiqui took a dig at the recently-released action film Fighter, which was earlier branded as anti-Pakistan by a number of Pakistani celebs. The Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor-starrer is directed by Siddharth Anand. On Thursday, Adnan took to X to respond to Fighter's box office numbers. The film grossed over ₹250 crore worldwide in its opening week, but its business at the domestic box office crashed on its first Monday in theatres. Also read: Siddharth Anand responds after Hania Aamir, other Pakistani celebs slam Fighter trailer for 'spreading hate'
'Let entertainment be free from politics'
Pakistani actor Adnan Siddiqui had said after Fighter trailer release in January, without mentioning the name of the movie, that it was 'disheartening' to see Bollywood portray Pakistanis as villains. Now, in his latest tweet, he has attacked the film, writing, “A lesson to heed for Fighter team after your flop show: Do not insult your audience’s intelligence. They can discern agendas. Let entertainment be free from unnecessary politics.”
Adnan slamming Hindi films
Reacting to Fighter's trailer, Adnan Siddiqui, who starred in the 2017 Hindi film Mom, alongside late actor Sridevi, had tweeted a couple of weeks ago, "Once celebrated for love, Bollywood now crafts hate-filled narratives, portraying us as villains. Despite our love for your films, it's disheartening. Art transcends boundaries; let's use it to promote love and peace. Two nations, victims of politics, deserve better."
In 2023, Adnan watched Siddharth Malhotra’s Mission Majnu, and criticised it for ‘misrepresentation’ of Pakistanis. The Pakistani actor had called the film 'distasteful' and 'factually incorrect' and slammed it for 'poor story, poorer execution, poorest research'. According to the actor there was 'so much in Mission Majnu that’s distasteful and factually incorrect'.
‘How much misrepresentation is too much’
Sidharth Malhotra plays an Indian spy in Pakistan in the inspired-by-real-life film set in the 1970s. Sharing a representational photo of a person showing a thumbs-down sign, Adnan wrote in his caption, "How much misrepresentation is too much misrepresentation? Bollywood has the answer. I mean come on, yaar (friend) with all the money you have, hire some good researchers to do homework on us."
He added, "Or allow me to help. Make sure to take notes — no, we don’t wear skull caps, surma (kohl), tawiz (an amulet or locket worn for good luck and protection, common in South Asia); no, we don’t ask janab (sir) about their mijaz (mood); no, we don’t go around throwing adaab (greeting in Urdu)."