Was 'Gadar' patriotic? Here's what Sunny Deol thought about film's theme

Sunny Deol-starrer Gadar 2 is roaring at the box office with a collection of over Rs 170 crore within just four days of its release. The film created a "non-solo, non-holiday release's fastest 100-crore milestone", the makers said in a press note on Tuesday.

The movie is a sequel to the iconic 2001 film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha starring Deol and Ameesha Patel as the lead characters. The film was a massive success and the sequel is also following its footsteps.

Gadar, which was a cross-border romantic drama, is considered a must watch for Independence Day due to its iconic dialogues on patriotism and nationalism. However, when the 65-year-old was asked about the theme of the movie, he completely rejected that the film was a patriotic one.

During an interview with the Rediff in 2006, Deol clarified that the 2001 blockbuster movie was a pure and simple love story and not a patriotic one as it was made out to be.

“It wasn't a patriotic film as it has been made out to be. Nor was it a story about two particular communities,” was Deol’s view on the theme of the Anil Sharma-directed movie.

He also said that the media gave the film communal colour.

“Do you think my role in Gadar was communal? It's the media that gives some films communal colour. Gadar was a pure and simple love story,” Deol said.

He also said in the interview that he enjoyed the movie’s theme.

Gadar 2 released on Friday with Utkarsh Sharma, son of the director Anil Sharma, joining Deol and Patel in the lead. The movie brings back the iconic pair of Tara Singh, played by Sunny Deol, and Sakina, played by Ameesha Patel, with the story shifting from the partition era to 1971.

According to the makers, Gadar 2 has emerged as the second biggest opening of the year till now after Shah Rukh Khan's action film Pathaan made Rs 55 crore on the first day of its release.