Gadar Turns 25: Anil Sharma Recalls 'I Made Ramayana'; Says Film Had 'Divine Intervention' - EXCLUSIVE

Gadar is a moment in the lives and careers of everyone involved, believes director Anil Sharma, who is celebrating 25 years of his monster hit that released on the same date today (June 15, 2001). Starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel in lead roles, and Amrish Puri, Vivek Shauq, Lillete Dubey, and Utkarsh Sharma in supporting roles, the movie had one of the biggest Bollywood clashes to date with Aamir Khan's Lagaan, yet managed to achieve massive box-office success. Such is its popularity even today that Anil Sharma had to plug in and come up with a suitable story for Gadar 2."A film like Gadar comes once in any filmmaker's life. It is a blessing from God. I pay my gratitude to the audience that it continues to achieve such milestones. Completing

25 years is a celebration in itself," Anil Sharma told Zoom in an exclusive chat.

Plot and legacy

Gadar combined romance, patriotism, family drama, and action against the backdrop of the Partition of India. It follows the story of Sunny Deol's character Tara Singh, a Sikh truck driver from India, and Sakina, played by Ameesha Patel, a Muslim woman from a wealthy family in Lahore. Set during the 1947 Partition, it shows how, amid violence and relocation chaos, Tara rescues Sakina and the two gradually fall in love. They marry and build a life together in India, eventually having a son. However, circumstances force Sakina to return to Pakistan, leading Tara to cross the border in a desperate attempt to reunite with his family.

Gadar is timeless even after 25 years

The film is remembered for its emotional storytelling, patriotic themes, and larger-than-life action sequences. Anil Sharma reiterates that it continues to stay relevant, "By the grace of God, we managed to make Gadar a complete film. Gadar is a timeless film. And it will always be in people's hearts. Gadar is relevant to even a 25-year-old from today as it was for someone then."Calling Gadar, "the first all-time blockbuster of this millennium," Sharma got candid about how the movie cannot be replicated even if you think of making another one. "Sometimes you get that kind of story, sometimes you don't. There are human errors. If you make every film thinking you'll make another Gadar, then why did you even make it?"

On the lines of Ramayana

"As goes the title 'Gadar: Ek Prem Katha,' I made Ramayana. Ram goes to get Sita from Lanka, and there cannot be any other identification of Lanka today than Pakistan. Even though it was not a war film, there was still something like a war," he added.

Film had divine intervention

According to him, it was a "divine intervention" that happened twice with him, even when he was making Gadar 2. "When a man tries, the biggest support he gets is from God. You do wish to bring the same thoughts in every film, but it doesn't happen. I'm fortunate that God gave me two all-time blockbusters in my life."

At par with Mother India, Mughal-E-Azam, Sholay

While he shares how he once wished to see him film in the league of other Bollywood mega blockbusters like Mother India, Mughal-E-Azam, and Sholay, he's glad he managed to crack the code. Infact his train sequence also got its inspiration from Sholay. Sharma looked back, "Sholay's train sequence inspired the whole world. It was such a technically well-shot sequence, despite little technology. Even during Gadar, we had little technology. On a moving train at the speed of 40 km/hour, Sunny, Ameesha, and Utkarsh run. Today, everything happens on a blue screen. Gadar had everything real."While he remembers how the train station scene ignited several memories of real survivors, it was a challenge to shoot it at the Amritsar station. "A man of 60-70 years kept on crying. He revealed that this was exactly how he arrived in a train full of butchered dead bodies. We got goosebumps hearing his story," Sharma shared.

Gadar, if it released today

But does the filmmaker feel that if Gadar released today, there would have been more close scrutiny over dialogues, bringing that era alive and other elements? Sharma explains, "People are still watching it. If they found anything irrelevant, they would've trolled it today. But Gadar is perfect. We did a lot of research. Today that has become very easy in the time of ChatGPT. We used to visit the Central Library for the entire day, researching in Delhi and Mumbai. That's how we collected the real incidents and real stories of Partition."While he says he made Gadar 2 due to sheer love by fans, Gadar 3 will happen only when he gets the relevant story. As for Lagaan, that also released with Gadar, Anil Sharma says, "Lagaan was a very good film too. But Gadar is Gadar. Aamir Khan himself said that Gadar was a monster, 6-7 times bigger than Lagaan."