New Delhi: British actor and singer-songwriter Laurence Fox has claimed that Sam Mendes’ war epic 1917, an Oscar frontrunner, is “forcing diversity” on viewers by featuring a Sikh soldier.
Fox also remarked that the movie’s casting was “odd”. Speaking on a podcast, he said: “It is kind of racist. If you talk about institutional racism, which is what everyone loves to go on about — which I’m not a believer in — there is something institutionally racist about forcing diversity on people in that way.”
He went on to say that appearance of a Sikh soldier diverted attention from what the actual story is. His comments came even as many Sikhs had served in the British Army during World War I.
Fox’s statement has been widely criticised, with English broadcaster and writer Piers Morgan saying it was an “unfortunate thing to say”.
“…I didn’t really get what you were getting at. I felt it was slightly insulting actually to Sikh soldiers who served. It felt to me as an unfortunate thing to have said,” remarked Morgan.
‘Good Morning Britain’ presenter Sussana Reid also said: “But Sam Mendes is a story teller? And he tells a story in his own way, felt it was important to tell this story. As I say, it is something that happened…Sikhs fought with British forces, not just their own regiment, that’s just a historical fact. To call it institutionally racist to tell that story… is extraordinary.”
Author and journalist Myra MacDonald, meanwhile, commented saying it would be interesting to know what the “Sikhs who have actually fought in the Indian Army think of that scene” in the movie.
> that said, I'd be interested to know what Sikhs who have actually fought in the Indian Army think of that scene. I found it a bit patronising (like an old Raj handbook about Sikhs), but I'd defer to their views. Don't think the film is out in India yet though.
— Myra MacDonald (@myraemacdonald) January 22, 2020
When asked if he regrets his comments, the actor later said: “I mean, as you’ve noticed, I say quite a lot of unfortunate things, but I think it’s really important that one is able to express one’s opinion.”
Asked about his comments, he also said Wednesday: “I’m not a historian i don’t know.”
This isn’t the first time that Fox has landed into a controversy because of his statements. In a podcast earlier, he had dismissed suggestions that Meghan Markle faced discrimination and also said he would never date a women below 35 as they were “too woke” and many of them are “absolutely bonkers”.
He further said women under 35 are “primed to believe they are victims”.
Also read: Golden Globe win pushes World War I epic ‘1917’ past even Star Wars in ticket wars
Sikh soldiers in First World War
Mendes’ 1917 is set against the backdrop of the First World War where two British soldiers receive orders to cross over into enemy territory to deliver a message that could potentially save 1,600 of their fellow comrades from falling into a death trap.
The movie was released on 17 January in India and has received 10 Oscar nominations.
It is to note that nearly 1.3 million Indian soldiers served in First World War, and one in six soldiers of the British Army was a Sikh. From 1914 to 1918, more than 74,000 Indian soldiers had died and many of them seriously injured.
The Sikhs had also made immense contributions in the first Battle of Ypres. But their contributions were never rewarded after the war.
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