Smashing all the pre-release myths and reservations that the industry and audiences held, Gadar 2, the sequel to the much-loved 2001 film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, has tasted unprecedented success at the box-office. To celebrate the same, the film engaged with the media in Mumbai at a private event. The Free Press Journal was also present at the do.
Actors Sunny Deol, Utkarsh Sharma, director Anil Sharma, writer Shaktimaan and producer Shariq Patel graced the occasion.
Director Anil Sharma | Photos by Varinder Chawla
An elated Anil Sharma could not hold his excitement and he shares how he stumbled upon the film’s script. “I always pondered over the idea of a remake. Wherever I went, people would always ask me if I would make a sequel or not. I must have sat over 100-150 scripts but I never stumbled upon the best story. Then one day, I walked up to Shaktiji and sought his help for a story. He came back to me during Navratri and said that there is a worthwhile story that he has penned. This story has all the right emotions and the audience will relate to it. There is nothing more criminal than playing with and disrespecting the sentiments of the audience. We knew we had the best story to offer. At no point did we want it to be gimmicky with our intent.”
Sunny Deol | Photos by Varinder Chawla
Joining him in his jubilation, a candid and animated Sunny spoke straight from the heart when asked about the inevitable comparison with Hollywood. “Why should we call ourselves Bollywood when we are the Hindi film industry or our cinema is Indian cinema. We should stop aping them and embrace our culture and our identities. The world looks up to us when it comes to the talent and art we possess. I appreciate that our younger generation wants to learn and seek knowledge about our stories and our origins,” he avers.
He further adds, “Back then too people laughed at us when we made the first film. We were told that the film will not work. The audiences proved it wrong. 22 years later, history has repeated itself. The audiences have shown us that if a film is made on pure intent and honesty, it will surpass all trends.”
Utkarsh Sharma | Photos by Varinder Chawla
When asked about sharing the screen space with Sunny again as his grown-up son, Utkarsh gushes, “When you work with Sunny sir, naturally your chest swells up too. Working with him is an actor’s dream. He is a huge action star, but nobody does nor does he talk about the preparation that goes behind in executing those action scenes. I remember when we were shooting the scene where he had to slap me, he was preparing on how he would do that and with how much sensitivity and intensity. There is no one like Sunny sir in Indian cinema or anywhere in the world and it’s been an absolute honour to have shared the screen space with him.”
Gadar 2 also stars Ameesha Patel, Simrat Kaur, Maneesh Wadhwa and Gaurav Chopra. It released in cinemas on August 11, 2023.
