Last Updated:
Anil Sharma recalls narrations with Dilip Kumar for a film that got pushed into the backfoot. He also reveals it was the legend who encouraged him to make Gadar: Ek Prem Katha.
Anil Sharma’s unmade film with Dilip Kumar and Dharmendra was titled Kashmir.
That Gadar: Ek Prem Katha was an instant blockbuster upon its release in 2001 is no secret. The Anil Sharma directorial starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel emerged as the highest-grossing Hindi film of its time, surpassing the record held by Hum Aapke Hain Koun. But very few know the story of how it came to being and it involves a regret that Sharma may never get over. Speaking exclusively to News18 Showsha, he reveals that the plot of Gadar occurred to him while working on another film with two legends that never got made.
The film was supposed to star Dilip Kumar and Dharmendra – which would mark their reunion more than two decades after Anokha Milan – but never went on floors. “Dilip Kumar is one person I really wanted to work with but couldn’t. Woh meri life ki ek regret hai. Before Gadar, I was working on another film titled Kashmir. I had spoken to both Dilip saab and Dharam ji and they had agreed to do the film,” Sharma tells us.
Talking about how that film give birth to Gadar, the Apne and Vanvaas director states, “For a subplot in that film, I was looking for a story revolving a Pakistani girl and a Kashmiri boy. And that’s where I stumbled upon the story of Gadar. Woh subplot dhundne mein mujhe Gadar ki kahaani aa gayi. So, I thought of focusing on Gadar and I decided to make Kashmir later. That never happened but Gadar got made.”
So enamoured was Sharma with the story of Gadar that Kashmir took a backfoot. “When that story came to me, mujhe thartharahat ho gayi. I knew that it would be the biggest Indian film ever. I was so convinced with the story of Gadar that I decided to put Kashmir on hold. Mera mann ka keeda itna kata mujhe ki maine kahan ki abb kuch nahi, Gadar banegi sabse pehle. Life ka ek dukh reh gaya ki main Dilip saab ke saath kaam nahi kar paaya,” he adds.
It was also Kumar’s motivation that led Sharma to shift his focus on Gadar. “When I informed him about it, he was fine with it. Why would it even bother him? Dilip Kumar is Dilip Kumar. It wouldn’t bother him if a film didn’t get made. He’s bigger than any film and he also had too many films in the pipeline. But he really encouraged me to make Gadar. He patted on my back and told me, ‘Laale, tera jo mann kare, tu woh hi kar,’” he shares.
But he fondly reminisces about his jam sessions with Kumar. “He used to call me ‘Laale’. I vividly remember my narration session with Dilip saab. And while he would read the lines, he would perform them. I’ve never met a more dedicated person. I remember that he made me sit in front of him and delivered his lines in so many different ways. He performed those scenes for an hour or so,” Sharma says.
Titas Chowdhury is a Principal Correspondent at News18 Showsha. She writes about cinema, music and gender in cinema. Interviewing actors and filmmakers, writing about latest trends in showbiz and bringing break…Read More
Titas Chowdhury is a Principal Correspondent at News18 Showsha. She writes about cinema, music and gender in cinema. Interviewing actors and filmmakers, writing about latest trends in showbiz and bringing break… Read More
Check latest Bollywood news updates, events and award shows, upcoming hindi movies releases, exclusive interviews, box office collections, reviews, trailers, and more. Download the News18 App.
