'Batwara 1947' X Reviews, Shabana Azmi And Sunny Deol Win Hearts, But Storyline Feels 'Outdated'
Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta's 'Batwara 1947' has finally arrived in theatres, and early reactions on X are giving it a largely positive response for the storytelling and performances.
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleSunny Deol and Preity Zinta's iconic duo has returned to the silver screen, and if early reactions are anything to go by, fans are loving their chemistry. Aamir Khan Productions' Batwara 1947 has finally arrived in theatres, and X (formerly Twitter) users are giving the Rajkumar Santoshi directorial a largely positive response, particularly for its emotional storytelling and performances.
However, not everyone was impressed. While several viewers called Batwara 1947 powerful and emotional, others felt its filmmaking and melodrama belonged to an earlier era.
What X users are saying about Batwara 1947
The Partition drama takes audiences back to 1947 and explores the aftermath of the Partition on the lives of ordinary people. Early viewers have praised Sunny Deol's performance as 'Sikandar', while Shabana Azmi's 'Mai' has also emerged as a major talking point.
Sunny Deol's performance received high praise for his nuanced portrayal of the hero with vengeance. A user wrote, "Batwara lives up to massive expectations. Has it all: drama, emotions, and action. Karan Deol does very well, and so do Preity Zinta & Shabana Azmi. Verdict – watch this."
Popular X critic Taran Adarsh gave Batwara 1947 a solid 3.5 stars and described the Sunny Deol-Santoshi combination as a success once again. He praised the film's "Unconventional plot, strong emotions, power-packed performances" that helped carry a "strong, pertinent message."
What users seemed to especially like was the fact that the film doesn't shy away from violence, which helps recreate the real horrors of that time. Several early reactions focused specifically on Sunny Deol's character arc.
A user wrote, "Sunny's eyes do most of the work there." Another user gave Batwara 1947 a full 5-star rating, saying it's a "must-watch movie" with "Powerful storytelling of emotions, humanity during the partition period."
Journalist Subhash K Jha wrote on X: "Batwara 1947 is Raj Kumar Santoshi’s best, most relevant work since Lajja in 2002. He has worked a magical alchemy with Sunny Deol in the past but nothing to compare with the irradiant validity of this work."
Shabana Azmi has received considerable appreciation from early viewers. One five-star reaction went as far as suggesting that Azmi deserves another National Award for her performance as 'Mai'. Other viewers have praised the emotional weight she brings to the story, particularly as her character becomes central to the film's themes of belonging, displacement and humanity.
Not everyone is impressed with the movie
Despite the praise, some viewers found Batwara 1947 too old-fashioned. One viewer gave it two stars and criticized what they described as excessive shouting and over-the-top melodrama from Sunny Deol. They also called the film “outdated” and “slow,” particularly criticising the second half for being predictable.
Many early viewers have described the story as good but felt the filmmaking resembled movies from the 1980s that made the film "boring." One user gave the film a 2.5-star rating and wrote, "Sunny Deol relies heavily on high-volume monologues and over-the-top melodrama, which feels exhausting." They also argue that "The storyline feels stuck in the past, with a slow second half and predictable."
What is Batwara 1947 about?
Batwara 1947 is set against the backdrop of Partition and follows ordinary people caught amid fear, violence, and displacement. Sunny Deol plays 'Sikandar', while Preity Zinta plays 'Hamida' and Shabana Azmi portrays 'Mai'. The film draws from Asghar Wajahat's acclaimed play Jis Lahore Nai Vekhya, O Jamya E Nai, adapting its themes of identity, belonging, and communal harmony for the big screen. When a Muslim family moves to newly created Pakistan and they start living in a deserted haveli in Lahore, their new beginning is disrupted when they discover an elderly Hindu woman still living inside the house.
With the film now in theatres, the early X reactions suggest that Batwara 1947 is likely to be a divisive watch. Have you watched the film yet?
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