Both fell in love and tied the knot, however, later, the girl was deported and went back to Pakistan. According to reports, he rescued a Muslim girl during the communal riots at the time of partition. The story of Gadar is loosely based on the real life of Boota Singh, a Sikh ex-soldier of the British Army, who served at the Burma front during World War II. Unfortunately, none of the films that followed could make an impact. It was only after Gadar’s success that Ameesha became one of the most sought after actors of her time. Kajol was the original choice but because of date issues, she couldn’t come on board. And guess what? Gadar is the highest-grossing film in Sunny’s acting career.Įven the female lead, actor Ameesha Patel, wasn’t the first choice to play the role of Sakina. Apparently, the director was keen on taking Govinda as the male lead but following the debacle of Maharaja (1998), which was also directed by Sharma, he changed his mind and roped in Deol. On the film’s sixteenth anniversary today, here’s filling you in on some interesting facts about the film.īelieve it or not, but Sunny Deol wasn’t the first choice to play the role of Tara Singh. Major part of the film was shot in Pathankot, Sarna and Amritsar. A couple of scenes were also shot at Sacred Heart School, Dalhousie. Gadar was widely shot in Shimla, including some portions at Bishop Cotton School.
Narrating a love story, Gadar revolves around Tara Singh (portrayed by Deol), a Sikh truck driver from Amritsar, who falls in love with Sakina (portrayed by Ameesha Patel), a Muslim girl hailing from a political family in Lahore, Pakistan. Starring actors Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel and late Amrish Puri, the 2001 Anil Sharma directorial was a period action drama, set in 1947, the time of partition in India. But Gadar was the winner at the boxoffice.Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, a film that broke quite a few records at the Box-office and set some new benchmarks too, completes sixteen years of its release today. It continues to be one of the top money-spinners of all times,leaving its Friday rival Lagaan behind in terms of boxoffice success. Gadar raked in more than Rs 200 crores during its first run. Did I expect it to be so big? We had all worked really hard on this film.”ĥ. Wherever I go Gadar is bound to come up sooner or later. “I don’t know if, as you say,it is the best film of my career. He admitted to me that Gadar had become the signature tune of his career. Sunny Deol was the first and last choice for the Sikh husband and father breaking borders to get his family back. The offer didn’t come from the producer or director, but straight from Aamir.”Ĥ. And they both went on to make history.I was destined to make history of another kind with Aamir when we did Mangal Pandey. They wanted someone who looked intelligent and educated.Lagaan and Gadar opened on the same day. Ironically, I was selected for Gadar for the same reasons that I was rejected for Lagaan.
There, I got to know that Lagaan’s director Ashutosh Gowariker had rejected me because, according to him, my eyes looked too intelligent and educated to play the village belle. He put me at ease completely.Then I went to New Zealand to shoot for Kaho Na… Pyar Hai. Yet, he treated me gently and affectionately. That’s where I met Aamir for the first time.He was a superstar I was a nobody. Ameesha told me she had the privilege of auditioning for both Gadar and Lagaan. Was Ameesha Patel the first choice to play Sakeena, Tara Singh’s estranged better-half? According to a source Anil Sharma was in extended talks with Kajol for Sakeena.
Anil Sharma told the same story in Gadar with some cosmetic changes.ģ. Gadar was actually inspired by a 1999 superhit Punjabi film Shaheed-e-Mohabbat Boota Singh where singer-actor Gurdaas Maan trudges actors the border to get his wife Divya Dutt back. Gadar was released on the same Friday as Aamir Khan’s historic Lagaan and actually made more money in the long run (pun intended).Ģ. Gadar: Ek Prem Katha was a mammoth pre-Partition melodrama where Sunny Deol sets off across the border to bring his wife Ameesha Patel back from Pakistan, the film’s passionate patriotism made it one of the biggest box office successes in the history of Bollywood.