25 years of Gadar Ek Prem Katha: Director Anil Sharma on the film’s enduring appeal

On 15 June 2001, ‘Gadar: Ek Prem Katha’ arrived in theatres. In some time, the Sunny Deol – Ameesha Patel starrer emerged as not just the biggest hit of the year but also registered itself in the annals of cinematic history as one of the most successful films of all time.

As the period romantic drama, which offered action and emotions in large doses, completes twenty-five years of its release today, director Anil Sharma shares some of his memories and experiences associated with it.

Before the film released, did you anticipate it getting the kind of success it did?

When we were making the film, we did get a sense that it is the kind of film that could resonate with Indians across all age groups and demographics and therefore, has a good chance of emerging as the biggest hit of all time. One does not get this feeling while making every film. With God’s grace, the film did become one of the biggest hits of all time. It has been twenty-five years since the film released but I feel as if it released yesterday. Time has flown by so quickly.

You got the inspiration for the story of the film from Ramayan.

Yes, that’s right! I wanted to make a film that would have the ethos of Ramayan. I was always inspired by how Prabhu Shri Ram went to Lanka, fought with Ravan and freed Sita from captivity. I was certain that the audience would relate to a child telling his father to bring his mother back. In those times, and even now, Pakistan would have been a good equivalent to the Lanka in Ramayan.  

How long did writer Shaktimaan Talwar take to write the script?

I feel that once you get a good idea, writing the script does not take a lot of time. Shaktimaan ji was very convinced about the core idea and wrote the entire script in 6-8 months. Since we were making a period film, we had to do a lot of research. That process took a lot of time. We researched for almost a year. The internet was not as accessible as it is today. We would visit libraries, go through several books and refer to the information and pictures in them.

While shooting the film at the Amritsar station, you came across an elderly Sikh gentleman who broke down after seeing what was being shot.

Yes, he kept crying for a long time. He said that he was a child when partition happened and crossed over to India in a train in a similar manner. I was overwhelmed to see him getting so emotional. Even while we were making the film, we were such reactions from people around us. That made us further confident about the fact that we were making a film that we would strike a chord with a large audience.

The music of the film, put together by composer Uttam Singh and lyricist Anand Bakshi, turned out to be highly memorable.

The first song we recorded for the film was ‘Udja Kaale Kaawaan’. The combination of Uttam Singh ji and Anand Bakshi saab was purely magical. Without their contribution, the film would not have become what it eventually did.

You have said that you made ‘Gadar 2’ twenty-two years after ‘Gadar’ released as you were waiting for the right story. Will you follow a similar approach for ‘Gadar 3’?

Yes! I will make ‘Gadar 3’ only when I get the right story. I don’t want to cash on a franchise. That has never been my intention. If we take a franchise forward with the wrong story, the audience will be disappointed. The day the right story comes to me, I will start working on ‘Gadar 3’.

As a filmmaker, you are known for making films which cater to a wide audience. Why, do you think, the Hindi film industry has not been able to make more such films in the last many years?

Such films are made regularly in the South. Yes, filmmakers here in Mumbai are not making many such films. However, I strongly believe that will change soon. People in our country love to watch films that are larger-than-life and have strong emotions. If we want the business to grow, we have no option but to make such films.

You are currently directing a film with your son Utkarsh Sharma. What can you tell us about that?

I decide to make a film only when I get a good story. We got a very good story and the character suited Utkarsh very well. The film has all the ingredients that you would expect from an Anil Sharma film. Himesh Reshammiya has composed some fantastic music for the film. Once we are fully ready with the film, we will be able to share more details about it.