'Cinemas should always sparkle': Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel celebrate Gadar 2's success in Dubai

At a time when audience has become more picky in terms of accepting entertainment content, be it films or TV shows, it would have been hard to anticipate Gadar 2's success despite it featuring Sunny Deol's angry-young-man, hand pump-breaking character.

But here we are — Rs4 billion and counting in India and overseas (courtesy Zee Studios) for the Anil Sharma directorial which brings back Sunny's Tara Singh and Ameesha Patel's Sakina — the sequel is undoubtedly a commercial success, especially after its reported budget of Rs600 million.

Celebrating its remarkable success, the star co-actors Sunny and Ameesha were in Dubai last week when we caught up with them to talk all things Gadar 2. Excerpts from the interview:

Gadar 2 is doing remarkably well, it has earned over Rs4 billion in India as well as overseas. So how do you feel about the success of the film which is a sequel to a project that released over two decades ago?

Sunny: Well, I am very happy, very excited. And the way the people have embraced the film and they are enjoying it. This is the beauty of it, that they're enjoying the success, and they're enjoying the cinema. Usually we have a film, they say it's a hit, but you don't see people enjoying it outside. This is a film which they are enjoying and they're making it a hit, and they're enjoying the whole experience, it's like a big festival.

Cinema is finally back after a few dry years due to the pandemic...

Sunny: Yeah, it is! Because this film has brought back three to four hundred cinemas that were shut. They just sprung back to life. And they are just lighting up all over again, which feels so nice. Cinema is something that should always be sparkling up there, shining as bright as possible because that's what we want – to go and see a film on the silver screen and enjoy it.

Ameesha: The best part is when Gadar 2 was under production, people would ask me, "So it'll release on OTT directly, right? Who's going to go back to theatres and why would they go back for a film that you're doing 22 years later?" And I used to just keep silent and say that Gadar is not a film meant for OTT; it's a 70mm experience. And I guess the box office is answering all those questions now as well as the doubts that people had, which is a very overwhelming feeling. You feel blessed that the audience is the deciding factor to validate anyone's hard work.

How did it feel returning to the sets of Gadar after 22 years?

Sunny: I think it was beautiful because we came back to the same character again, the same family, and shooting at similar locations. It was just a continuation, and all the moments, you know when you hear the story and you love it and you want it to be done, then you enjoy every moment of it. We all become a big team that wants to recreate it properly. So everyone did their best so that they do justice to it.

Ameesha: It was like a time capsule. I felt I had stepped from the previous film onto this set, it just felt comfortable like home.

You are an onscreen couple; what's your favourite quality about each other?

Sunny: My favourite quality about Ameesha is that she talks, and I listen.

Ameesha: (Laughs) And I complain. I go to him for everything. He is the real-life Tara for Sakina, and for everything.

Sunny: She also insists on giving me gifts, and I have to say no more! (Laughs)

Ameesha: But I think nothing's changed with us. We've only grown more fond of each other, more respectful from the first day that we ever got together as colleagues. The comfort level you see on screen is real. That's the comfort level we have in real life, and that's why the chemistry shows on screen. There's nothing fake about us towards each other.

How do you feel about Gadar 2 garnering so much love overseas?

Ameesha: I hope so, because people love us together, and it would be a shame not to give the audience their favourite couple.