Anil Sharma’s Gadar: Ek Prem Katha released on June 15, 2001. As the film approaches its 25th anniversary, lead actress Ameesha Patel opens up about how she received immense love from Pakistan following the film’s humongous success.
In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, Ameesha Patel says, “I got the biggest Pakistani fanbase due to Gadar, and I had women calling my secretary. Somehow getting the numbers, elderly women called and said, ‘Kya Ameesha ji, Pakistan ko apne rula diya, Sakina ne rula diya.’ (Ameesha you made Pakistan cry. Sakina made Pakistan cry.)”
She continues, “Then parents calling and saying humne apne beti ka naam Sakina rakh diya hai. (Parents called and said they have named their daughter Sakina). They loved Gadar.”
On How Gadar Was A ‘Monstrous Hit’ On Day 1
Ameesha Patel recalls how Gadar: Ek Prem Katha’s humongous success was unprecedented when it was released.
She says, “It became the biggest hit on the first day of release itself because it got 100% opening all over India, single screens. They just lapped it up. It was a single-screen audience. And it was such a hectic time because in those days, actors used to do five films at a time in a year.”
“So I was juggling between set to set of other films. And I didn’t even have time to digest what a humongous, monstrous hit it had become,” Ameesha Patel adds.
On 25 Years Of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha
Twenty-five years is indeed a milestone, Ameesha Patel concurs.
She says, “We’ve come to this journey 25 years later, and we’re still iconic. And we’ve had a part two that has created a tsunami at the box office and become iconic. And combined, Gadar 1 and Gadar 2 have the biggest footfalls, more than even Dhurandhar 1 and 2. Just purely on footfalls that means the amount of people that have actually entered the cinema houses to watch both films is so heartening and to feel that I am part of the cinematic history, to be privileged, to be blessed.”
“To thank my audiences for that, God for it and the opportunity to be chosen to play Sakina, my most esteemed character and my toughest one at that time because I was too raw, who knew. It just feels surreal,” concludes Ameesha Patel.
About Gadar: Ek Prem Katha
Set against the backdrop of the 1947 Partition, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha revolves around a working-class Sikh truck driver, Tara Singh (Sunny Deol), who saves a young Muslim girl, Sakina (Ameesha Patel), during the chaotic riots. Sakina belongs to an aristocratic family.
The plot focuses on their dramatic separation and how he journeys to Pakistan to reunite with his family.
