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In the history of Indian cinema, many films made on the background of Partition and feudal system touched the hearts of the audience, but some films, being far ahead of their time, could not achieve the success they deserved at the box office. J.P. The multi-starrer film 'Bantwara' (Batwara 1947) directed by Dutta has also been one such much talked about film. Veteran actors like Sunny Deol, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Dimple Kapadia, Amrita Singh and Shabana Azmi acted in this film. Recently, while talking about the cinematic experiences of an earlier era, veteran actress Shabana Azmi revealed why despite such a big star cast and strong direction, the film proved to be a flop at the box office. 'People could not tolerate that bitter truth': Shabana Azmi's frank analysis Shabana Azmi, while analyzing the failure of the film, said that the audience of the late 80s was not mentally prepared for the naked and harsh truth of the feudal environment of Rajasthan, caste discrimination, bonded labor and the life of dacoits which was shown in 'Partition'. He said, "J.P. Dutta's cinema is very realistic, raw and intense. There was no artificial drama or commercial masala in 'Bantwara'. It showed such a bitter truth of human greed, violence and tyranny of the system that it was uncomfortable and painful for many viewers to watch it in theaters. The audience at that time liked to watch only entertainment and dance-singing movies, they could not tolerate this heavy mental stress and reality."

Sunny Deol and Dharmendra's pairing: The audience expecting action got deep drama. Another major reason for the flop of the film was the mismatch of audience's expectations. At that time, both Dharmendra and Sunny Deol were considered the uncrowned kings of action cinema. When the audience reached the theater to see these two stars together on screen, they were expecting a traditional 'fight and revenge' masala film. However, Sunny Deol's character (Vikram) and Dharmendra's character (Sumer) in the film were of individuals who became rebels after being oppressed by the system, whose lives were marked by depression, struggle and ultimately painful tragedy. Due to conventional heroism and no happy ending, the film could not satisfy the mainstream masala audience. J.P. Due to Dutta's serious direction and depiction of deep cracks in the society, film critics also believe that 'Partition' was one of the best films of its time in terms of technique, dialogue and cinematography. The issues of exploitation of farmers by the jagirdars, police brutality and social inequality were raised with great sensitivity in the film. Laxmikant-Pyarelal's music and Majrooh Sultanpuri's lyrics were also of very high standard. Despite this, the film's slow pace and heavy dialogue did not go down well with the general audience. This film was a mirror of the society of that era, which people did not want to see. Cult Classic Status: Tremendous recognition on TV and digital, even though 'Bantwara' may not have earned commercially as expected in theatres, but with the passage of time, it has been given the status of a 'Cult Classic' by cinema lovers and analysts. When the film aired on television and later on digital and OTT platforms, people praised the serious acting of Sunny Deol, Vinod Khanna and Shabana Azmi. According to Shabana Azmi, many films may lose in immediate box office figures, but their cinematic value always remains alive and 'Partition' is also included in those few classic films.