‘No Dhurandhars or Pushpas have managed to get footfalls both Gadars got’: Ameesha Patel

Ameesha Patel on signing Gadar: Ek Prem Katha

Ameesha Patel made her big screen debut with Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. And then came her second film, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, a film she took to challenge the actor in her. Talking about signing up for the film, Ameesha shared, “I was shooting for Kaho Na Pyaar Hai when I agreed to do Gadar. When I was called in for a meeting by Nitin Keni, I asked him how he thought I was suitable for Gadar? Secondly, I was concerned about the age difference between Sunny and me. I was playing this character, Sakina, who is a Pakistani in the pre-independence era. She went from a college girl to a mother. Nitin explained how he spotted me at a magazine photoshoot, and they wanted someone who looked like the moon. He thought I’d fit the part. Also, since the characters had an age difference, they wanted to cast accordingly. And I fell in love with the subject.”

Also Read: ‘She belongs to Tara Singh’: How an angry crowd didn’t let Bobby Deol hug Ameesha Patel

 

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She further added, “When I had said yes to the film, there were a series of screen tests, and there were 500 girls who were tested even after Nitin sir found his Sakina. Some very well-known and seasoned actresses were also in the running. But the rest of the industry had reservations about the film. In fact, Rakesh Roshan told me, ‘Are you crazy? You want to play a mother in your second film only. Kaho Na Pyaar Hai has not even released. You do not know if the film succeeds, you will be this vibrant heartthrob with Hrithik. Both of you will gain the success, but you’ll be college kids. Why would you go and put yourself in a situation where you take on such a difficult role that seasoned actors do after 5-10 years? You are killing your career before it is starting.'”

Despite the warnings, Ameesha Patel remained convinced that Gadar was a risk worth taking. “Coming from a non-filmy background, one would think I would listen to someone as prolific as Rakesh Roshan. He was my guide and mentor. What he was saying on paper made sense. But as an actor, I saw that as a challenge, and I told him that I was in love with the film’s story. I said, ‘I wish in real life I was Sakina and this had happened to me.’ And he said, ‘You are such a mad person,'” Ameesha recalled.

Vinod Khanna was concerned; tabloids called Gadar ‘Gutter’

Not just Rakesh Roshan, even Vinod Khanna and others were concerned about the choice Ameesha Patel made. The actress recalled, “Literally, people thought I was crazy. Vinod Khanna and other family friends were genuinely concerned about my career graph. They were like, ‘Why would you do this?’ But I had full faith in the subject. Even when the film released, a lot of tabloids called the film Gutter. It was painful, but we smiled through it because the industry had overlooked us. We were underdogs, and we came as a surprise. We broke every box office record and created cinematic history. And it happened twice.”

“When I used to tell many people and big actors about Gadar, they would be like, ‘What the hell?’ When I went from one schedule to the Gadar schedule, my colleagues would be like, ‘Whatever.’ They never took it seriously. Our team was so convinced. Sunny was not at the top of his game that time. He had a couple of disasters, and people in the industry would tell me why I was working with someone who was not doing well and was such an elderly hero after being launched alongside a young guy like Hrithik. Anil Sharma had also just given a disaster with Maharaja. Kaho Na Pyaar Hai was also an underdog film. It was shaky ground, and I went to even shakier ground with Gadar. I was 21, playing a mother to a 7-8-year-old son. I was getting a lot of flak. The film got backlash; no one cared. Zee was not an established production house either. Zee was taking a risk. Everything seemed wrong on paper; we ticked none of the boxes. While we were under production for those 2-2.5 years, no one had faith,” Ameesha added.

‘Gadar was a monster, ate so much into Lagaan’s collection’

Despite the challenges surrounding Gadar, the film struck a chord with audiences and emerged as a massive success. Reflecting on its reception, Ameesha Patel shared, “Gadar was a leap of faith that I took, and that became like I got my Sholay so early in my career. To have records that are not broken and to repeat it the second time over, where you have footfalls that are still not broken. No Dhurandhars or Pushpas have managed to get the footfalls that both Gadars combined got. It is the film with the highest footfalls in the entire Indian film industry. When you have a legacy like that, you feel privileged. With the Gadar 2 release, people revisited the first part and loved it when the film was re-released. I feel grateful to take up the film even when seasoned people told me I was committing career suicide and was murdering my career.”

On Gadar 3, and how things changed after Gadar’s success

The success of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha surely became a game changer for Ameesha Patel. “After Gadar released, things changed for me in the industry. While Kaho Na Pyaar Hai gave me the impetus, Gadar reinstated the fact that I could act and was here to stay. In terms of offers, producers, good subjects, and the remuneration I could demand, everything got better. When you are an outsider, you have to constantly battle to prove yourself. Star kids are given many years and many failures, and are still accepted. The producers give them a long rope with multiple opportunities with the biggest of banners. It has reached a point where people are just fed up; see the box office collections today. As an outsider, it was a battle to be accepted with every film. Gadar made me an insider; it gave me wider acceptance. The film cemented my position in the industry.”

Recently, Ameesha wrote on X that Gadar 3 would achieve record-breaking success. Talking about the upcoming instalment, she said, “Gadar 3 will be officially announced very soon by the producers. All I can say is, when it comes, the brand is such that it will create a storm at the box office.”