Anubhav Sinha reveals why he removed PM Modi's voiceover in Bheed trailer, reacts to being called 'anti-national'

Anubhav Sinha's latest directorial Bheed has been embroiled in controversies since its trailer dropped on YouTube. The film highlights the struggles the ordinary people, especially the poor migrant workers, faced during the Covid-19 induced lockdown in the nation in 2020.

The trailer was met largely with a negative reaction from netizens who called it an 'anti-India' movie and was removed from YouTube days after its release. The new trailer did show up with certain changes, the most noticeable one being the removal of PM Modi's speech announcing the lockdown.

In a recent interview, Anubhav Sinha was asked why he removed PM Modi's voiceover from the new trailer. The filmmaker told indianexpress.com, "There are more changes in the trailer, but this makes more news for you. Every film goes through various such challenges. Let’s talk about Bheed the story. I don’t want to distract people from the story of Bheed, as it’s way more interesting."

Anubhav was even called 'anti-national' for comparing the horrors of the Covid-19 lockdown with the partition of India in 1947 in the Bheed trailer. Reacting to the same, he added, "Yes I have heard I am anti-national before. I do hear it for most of my films. But it didn’t surprise me. I love India, I love the original idea of India. Anybody who loves India more than I do, I respect that person. I’m trying to do my best as a lover and I’m sure even they’ve done their best as lovers of the country."

Starring Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Dia Mirza, Aditya Srivastava, Ashutosh Rana, Kritika Kamra, and Pankaj Kapur among others, Bheed is shot entirely in black and white. Also produced by Anubhav Sinha under his banner Benaras Mediaworks Production, the social drama releases in theatres this Friday, March 24.

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