Anubhav Sinha reveals why Bheed trailer was deleted and re-released later


Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha recently opened up about the trailer of his upcoming film Bheed, which was initially pulled down upon release. The trailer was re-released with some modifications only after a few days. The trailer received mixed reactions after release as it compared the 2020 lockdown to what India faced during the 1947 partition. Also read: Anubhav Sinha says being labelled ‘anti-national’ doesn’t surprise him

Anubhav Sinha on his upcoming film Bheed and its trailer which was deleted initially after release.
Anubhav Sinha on his upcoming film Bheed and its trailer which was deleted initially after release.

Bheed stars Rajkummar Rao, Bhumi Pednekar, Pankaj Kapur, Dia Mirza, Kritika Kamra and Ashutosh Rana. The film highlights the struggles of migrant workers in India during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. The trailer was re-released after chopping off a speech by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a line referencing partition.

When asked about it, Anubhav told news agency PTI during an interview, “Of course, these changes are obvious. The trailer was off air for two days (and) the changes mentioned are correct. But that reason is the filmmaker’s business. There is a sanctity to the film and I would not like to disturb it.”

Bheed has also been called ‘anti-India’ film by a section of people on social media. Meanwhile, reports also suggest Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series who was co-producing the film has now distanced themselves from Bheed. Talking about it, the director called Bhushan his friend and asserted that they will continue working on future projects.

“These are difficult films. In terms of making as well as in terms of taking it to you, but still, it is our responsibility to make these films and more importantly, that you watch these films,” Anubhav said. He also added, “Need one more help. Please don’t think about how it was censored, how it will be released, why the trailer was removed from T-series channel, why Bhushan’s (Kumar) name was removed… These are all the battles of the filmmaker. We are fighting, we will fight.”

Bheed is a black-and-white film. It is now backed by Anubhav’s Benaras Mediaworks and is slated to release on March 24. The director’s last film was Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Anek, which couldn’t perform well at the box office.