Bharat director on how iconic scene in Amitabh-starrer Deewaar led to an important sequence in Sultan, featuring Salman Khan
MID-DAY (June 8, 2019)

Director Ali Abbas Zafar says there is one iconic scene of Amitabh Bachchan in the classic film, Deewaar that influenced him tremendously. “There is a scene in Deewaar where Bachchan talks to God. Unfortunately, you cannot write a scene like that today as it could become controversial. But that [sequence] became the soul of [my film] Sultan, where Salman Khan sits in the Dargah and tells Aarfa [Anushka Sharma’s character] that he is returning to get what he lost,” he said.

Having once harboured the desire to join the Indian Armed Forces as an Air Force pilot, Zafar says he found his ability to entertain as a filmmaker when he joined theatre in Delhi University. He says he has only interacted with “cinema as an audience”.

Meanwhile, Zafar’s Eid release Bharat has been going strong at the box office. After earning Rs 42 crore on its opening day, it bagged Rs 31 crore on Thursday, taking its two-day tally to Rs 73 crore.