20 Years of Gadar EXCLUSIVE: “As a father, I was feeling very cruel. I didn’t let my wife on the sets for the climax scene on the train” – Anil Sharma

By Fenil Seta -

June 16, 2021 - 11:00 AM IST

Gadar – Ek Prem Katha was a film that had emotions, romance, drama, patriotism, action and music in equal doses. Yet, the film today is remembered mainly for its action. Even when it comes to the action scenes, the hand pump scene takes the cake. However, even the climax scene where Tara Singh (Sunny Deol), his wife Sakina (Ameesha Patel), his son Jeete (Utkarsh Sharma) and buddy Darmiyaan (Vivek Shauq) try to enter back into India from Pakistan by hiding in a good train was equally powerful and nail-biting. To see this kind of grandeur in an action scene that too in 2001 added to the film’s appeal.

20 Years of Gadar EXCLUSIVE: “As a father, I was feeling very cruel. I didn’t let my wife on the sets for the climax scene on the train” – Anil Sharma

Yesterday, Gadar – Ek Prem Katha completed 20 years and on this occasion, Bollywood Hungama spoke exclusively to its director Anil Sharma. When this writer how difficult was it to shoot the climax, Anil Sharma opened up about for the first time of the hardships that he faced. He revealed, “It was quite challenging to get a train from that era and to do action and other stuff on it. It was not easy at all. There was no VFX or CGI then. So everything had to be done for real. My son Utkarsh played the role of Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel’s son. And for a scene, Sunny sir is supposed to lift Utkarsh and walk on top of the train and then jump from one compartment to another. Utkarsh was just 5. It was a difficult shoot not just as a director but also as a father. I think it was the first time that a director shut his eyes while a shot was being filmed. I didn’t let my wife on the sets as I was not sure if she would have not allowed it. She is very understanding and doesn’t take unnecessary tension. But I know how tensed she would have been till the time the shot would not have got over.”

Anil Sharma continued, “As a father, I was feeling very cruel. But what would I have done? When I told Sunny sir about the scene, he said, ‘Main sambhal loonga’. Sunny sir pe mujhe bharosa tha. The train was running at a speed of 40 km/hour. And Sunny sir Utkarsh ko leke ek compartment se leke jaate hai. For those 30-40 seconds, I just couldn’t see what was happening. It’s only when I heard the sound of the train stopping that I opened my eyes. I saw Sunny sir was trying to balance himself and sit atop the train, having completed the shot. And Utkarsh was safe and sound. I heaved a sigh of relief! Even while narrating this to you, I am getting goosebumps.”

Anil Sharma then said, “I want to credit the success of that scene to two people – one is Sunny sir and the other is Utkarsh, who did it for the sake of his father. He was just 5 years. Agar uska mann badal jaata, toh main kya kar leta? But he understood that he needed to do it for his father. He is such an obedient child. God bless him!”

Also Read: 20 Years of Gadar EXCLUSIVE: “I thought that just the way Lord Hanuman lifted the mountain that had the Sanjeevani booti, Sunny Deol should lift this hand pump” – Anil Sharma