Akshay Oberoi who played Squadron Leader Basheer Khan aka Bash in 'Fighter' said that jingoism is subjective. He also said in the film there are dialogues where they have said they are not against Pakistan but against terrorism.
Actor Akshay Oberoi is currently on cloud nine as his recent release 'Fighter' has been getting so much love all across the nation. 'Fighter' is Akshay's first mega commercial project where he plays Squadron Leader Basheer Khan aka Bash. He plays a supporting role along with Karan Singh Grover who plays Squadron Leader Sartaj Singh aka Taj. Akshay, in a conversation with Outlook India, expressed his happiness that he left a mark with his performance in the Siddharth Anand directorial.
Akshay shared, ''It feels great. I never received this kind of appreciation all at once. My films or shows come with a message and people appreciate my work slowly and it gets critical acclaim. But I have never gotten this kind of box office fame. It's really huge for me and all thanks to Siddharth Anand for writing characters like Basheer and making it stand out among the huge star cast. Hats off to him who has beautifully done it from the screenplay to everything''.
He continued, ''In a film where there are stars like Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor, it's difficult to make your place. But it feels surreal that people have connected with our roles.''
Post the release of 'Fighter' trailer and also the movie, a section of people felt that some dialogues were 'jingoistic'. Also, it came under fire for being 'anti-Pakistan'. Several Pakistani celebs took to social media to slam it.
On the allegations, Akshay Oberoi shared his opinion as he said, ''Jingoism is very subjective. What is jingoism to you might be nationalism to someone. I don't know where to draw the line. When we are showing stuff like Air Force and Pulwama attacks and all, which country is involved in these attacks? There is only one country. Pakistan happens to be the country we have always seen as the other side''.
''In the film, we have said we are not fighting against the country, we are fighting against terrorism. Those who have called it jingoistic, I request them to watch the film. There is nothing in it that anyone is bashing and you have to retaliate when your country is in danger,'' he added.
Now that Akshay has tasted success with 'Fighter', he wants more success and wants to do more commercial movies. ''I hope this is just the beginning,'' he said.
The 'Flesh' actor also said that OTT has played a huge role in shaping his career. He further said, ''I owe to the digitalisation of our country and thanks to the government who made it happen. If I hadn't done Flesh, today I wouldn't have been in Fighter. OTT has made my career and I think there are so many actors like Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey and others who bagged big projects after working on OTT platforms.''