Rohit Shetty defends Cop films glorifying encounter, police brutality: It’s important to instil fear

Director Rohit Shetty is popularly known for his cop-centric films like Singham, Simmba, Sooryavanshi and the upcoming Indian Police Force series. He recently responded to criticism that his movies glorify police brutality and encounter killings. In an interview with Film Companion, Shetty defended the allegations and shared that he understands the challenges faced by the police force as he has closely observed officers in action.

Rohit Shetty reveals why it is important for cop movies to be made

Defending his perspective, he recalled instances where police officers had to undergo psychological counselling due to traumatic experiences, such as the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. Acknowledging the need to instil fear in society, Shetty expressed, “Imagine if you’re going to the office and you’re meeting a druggie, a rapist, someone who has chopped the head of an innocent person. When you deal with those kinds of people, you have a different frame of mind altogether.”

Rohit said that he’s against killings of innocent people but “if someone is shooting at you, you won’t welcome them with open arms, would you? It is important to instill fear in the society. I firmly believe in this.” Shetty shared that he is okay to get trolled for believing in this.

Rohit Shetty defends the real life cops

While expressing opposition to killing innocent people and vigilante justice, Shetty talked about the importance of self-defence for law enforcement. He shared a scenario where officers without bulletproof vests had to protect themselves with chairs when faced with gunfire during an arrest attempt. "What should they do? They will retaliate," he said.

Vivek Oberoi, Sidharth Malhotra and Shilpa Shetty lead Rohit's upcoming Indian Police Force series which is set to premiere on Prime Video on January 19.