Sunny Deol revealed that before its release, “Gadar: Ek Prem Katha”—today celebrated as one of Bollywood’s biggest blockbusters—was met with heavy skepticism from the industry. In a recent chat with Zoom, the actor shared that many in Bollywood doubted the film’s chances and even dismissed its now-iconic music, which went on to become a cultural phenomenon.
This song from Sunny Deol’s film Gadar touches everyone’s heart. This song has no competition in Bollywood till date.#SunnyDeol #Gadar #Bordpic.twitter.com/9fgcIWNZJM
— Border 2 (@Border2_23_1_26) August 8, 2025
Sunny Deol reflected on the gap between Bollywood and its audience while recalling “Gadar: Ek Prem Katha”. He said, “Whenever I used to play the songs for people, they didn’t like them at the time. But now, the film takes itself along; it carries itself. Nobody can stop it. This happens because the industry and the audience are not in sync. When you get more, you forget. You drift apart from your craft.”
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The actor admitted that he was initially hesitant when director Anil Sharma approached him with the script. However, the first narration changed everything. “When he narrated the subject, I just fell in love with it. The whole night we listened to the narration, and the discussion happened. And my only thing was that it had to look like that period. Because if that period is not shown, then the story won’t feel real,” Sunny recalled.
“Sunny Deol reveals industry doubted Gadar: Ek Prem Katha before its release, even disliked its iconic songs! Now a timeless blockbuster. #SunnyDeol #Gadar #Bollywood #Movies” pic.twitter.com/E9pwfD6Vix
— Indian Cimema (@IndianCinemaD) August 22, 2025
Despite doubts from the industry, Gadar, starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel, emerged as a cultural milestone and a massive box office success, earning ₹133 crore in 2001. Its sequel, Gadar 2, released in 2023, recreated history by becoming one of the highest-grossing Hindi films ever, with a staggering ₹691.08 crore collection.
Looking ahead, Sunny Deol has several big projects lined up. He will reprise his role in Border 2, the sequel to JP Dutta’s 1997 war classic, and star in Lahore 1947, produced by Aamir Khan and co-starring Preity Zinta. Additionally, Sunny is set to portray Lord Hanuman in Nitesh Tiwari’s ambitious Ramayana.
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