Budgeted at approximately ₹190 million (US$4.03 million), Gadar: Ek Prem Katha had a global cinema release on 15 June 2001, opposite Ashutosh Gowariker's sports drama Lagaan.[6] The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics, garnered praise towards the dramatic and confrontation sequences, soundtrack and the performances, particularly of Deol, Patel and Puri.[7] the film grossed over ₹768.8 million (US$16.29 million) net in India and ₹1.33 billion (US$28.19 million) worldwide with a distributor share of ₹546 million (US$11.57 million), and went on to emerge as the highest-grossing Hindi film since Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994).[8]Gadar: Ek Prem Katha is the second most-watched Indian film in India since the 1980s after Baahubali 2, recording more than 50 million footfalls in India.[9] According to Box Office India, its adjusted gross in India is ₹4.86 billion (US$103 million) as per 2017 ticket sales.[10] The film was nominated in nine category in 47th Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Actress and Best Music, while Patel garnered the Filmfare Special Award.[11]
A sequel titled Gadar 2 was released on 11 August 2023 with Deol, Patel and Sharma reprising their roles.
During the Partition of Punjab, radical Muslims attacked Sikhs and Hindus migrating from Pakistan towards East Punjab in India. In retaliation, radical Hindus and Sikhs attacked Muslims migrating from India by train to West Punjab in Pakistan. This cycle of violence intensified as people fled across the borders. During the Hindu-Muslim riots that erupted soon after the partition, a truck driver named Tara Singh also plans to kill Muslims but stops after recognizing his college friend Sakina Ali from the little Taj Mahal antique in her hands. Tara saves and protects her from the mob chasing her as she cannot get onto the train with her family members after being lost in the crowd. Tara Singh defends Sakina by applying blood (implying Sindoor) to her forehead to make her his Sikh wife. While driving back to their house, Tara and Sakina remember their college days.
Pre-1947: Tara's real ambition is to become a singer, where Sakina's friends fool Tara into thinking that they got him a spot on their college's music show in return for a favor. Tara performs badly in front of the music teacher (portrayed by Sakina). His friend gives him tablets that help him to prove his singing skills. Later, Tara finds that Sakina is not the real music teacher, which saddens him. When performing on the music show, Sakina announces that she will not do her act and instead gives a chance for Tara to sing despite being against the seniors' will at the college. Tara impresses everybody with his talent. While returning home after completing the final year, Tara gives Sakina a Taj Mahal antique as a farewell present.
Later, Tara's parents Jaideep Singh, and Parmeet Kaur, and two sisters are depressed as they did not return to Amritsar before the partition. Gul Khan, Tara's Muslim friend meets the family and requests them to stay with him as his parents love both friends equally, but Tara's parents and sisters disagree. They reluctantly decide to leave. While leaving for the station, Jaideep and Parmeet give two paper pouches to their daughters. The bewildered twins ask them about the pouches, and Jaideep tells them that the sisters should not hesitate to give up their lives lest any Muslim attacks. The family reaches the station and boards the train. After some time, a large Muslim mob attacks the whole train consisting of Hindu and Sikh refugees. The people escape to save themselves but are killed gruesomely.
Tara's sisters hastily try to eat the poison, but two men throw it from their hands and kill them after cruel physical abuse. The train, which was full of dead bodies of Hindus and Sikhs, had just arrived at Amritsar station with a message written on it. The Hindus and Sikhs, waiting to pick up their relatives at the station, see that their relatives were slaughtered inside the train. Tara, too, is at the station and sees the bloodshed. Enraged, the Hindus and Sikhs formed a strong squad in East Punjab and retaliated in the same manner along with Tara and massacred every Muslim in Amritsar station trying to flee to Pakistan.
1947-1954: Tara and Sakina reach their house, where he explains that applying sindoor doesn't mean anything as he did this only to save her life. After learning from the local railway station about her parents' demise, Sakina starts living in Tara's house. After overhearing Tara's aunt's comments about how society is reacting towards Tara's family that he is keeping a Muslim, she insists Tara take her to a Muslim refugee camp as she doesn't want to overburden him anymore. Before Tara and Sakina head out towards Lahore, Sakina insists that she had learned about Tara's love for her by reading his secret diary, but doesn't say anything. After reaching the border and realizing her love for him, Sakina proposes to Tara, and they get married and become parents of a baby boy named Charanjeet "Jeete" Singh.
Their life seems like a bed of roses until Sakina sees an old newspaper during Holi festival which has a photograph of her father Ashraf Ali and realizes that her parents are alive. Ashraf Ali is the present mayor of Lahore. Sakina calls Ashraf Ali from the Pakistani Embassy in Delhi, where he arranges to fly her to Lahore. However, Tara and their son Jeete, who is supposed to accompany her to Lahore, are told at the last minute that their visa formalities have not been completed, which compels them to stay in India. Sakina leaves with a heavy heart and meets her whole clan back in Lahore. After some time, Sakina says that she wants to return to India, but her mother tells her that she is about to be disowned as people are babbling about her staying with an Indian Jatt.
Ashraf Ali also relates all of their hardships during the journey from India to Pakistan. Sakina is heartbroken, but she starts protesting when her parents' friends start using her post-marriage life as a publicity stunt and depict her in-laws badly to extract more sympathy and votes from the Pakistani population. Later, Sakina is introduced to Salim Ali, an influential handsome person, and is told that she will be marrying him. Still, Sakina refuses and even asks Qazi Saheb to leave her alone, saying a second marriage during the husband's lifetime is a sin. Sakina's parents and Mamaji are irate about this, and they forcibly lock her up in a room inside the palace. After learning they will not receive a visa, Tara, along with his friend and Jeete, enter Pakistan illegally at the border.
Tara reaches Lahore with his son and friend Darmiyaan Singh. Tara tries to take shelter in Gulkhan (Mushtaq Khan), his step-brother's house but leaves the place with Jeete and Darmiyaan. They find out that Sakina is getting married and reach her before the marriage takes place. A fight is about to break out when the priest stops them, which can end up harming Ashraf Ali's political career. Ashraf Ali agrees to their marriage under two conditions: They should live in Pakistan and Tara should convert to Islam. These conditions were accepted by Tara in public the next day, which was against Ashraf Ali's plans. Ashraf Ali makes Tara insult his country to prove that he is a true Pakistani, but Tara gets enraged and kills a mob dispatched by Ashraf.
Tara, Sakina, Jeete, and Darmiyaan manage to escape from the city and hide in a poor couple's cottage near the border forest. The man's wife is a greedy woman who wants all of Sakina's ornaments for herself, she refuses to listen to her husband and throws Sakina out of the house when she does not get more jewelry. After Sakina leaves with Tara, Jeet, and Darmiyaan, Ashraf Ali reaches the cottage and relocates his daughter. After a long period of turmoil, they catch a cotton mill train bound for India. Ashraf Ali finds out and takes some men to stop them. In the ensuing fight, Sakina gets shot by her father and lapses into a coma. Sakina gains consciousness after having a nightmare, where she reunites with Tara and Jeete. Ashraf Ali finally accepts Tara as his son-in-law. Tara, Sakina, Jeet and Darmiyaan return to India.
Gulshan Mazdiasni as the Opera singer at the Annual Function
Production
Anil Sharma and Sunny Deol on the sets of Gadar.
Kajol was offered the role of Sakeena, but she turned it down as she did not feel the movie was her type of film.[12] A part of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha was shot at Bishop Cotton School in Shimla and at other several locations in Shimla. A part of it was also shot in Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School at Dalhousie. Although the film was set in 1947, it features the music of "Que sera sera" which was first published in 1956.
The music of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha was composed by Uttam Singh. Lyrics of all the songs were written by Anand Bakshi. According to composer Uttam Singh, since the movie was based in 1947 and was releasing in 2001, it was a challenge for him to give a music which could relate to 1947 as well as cater the listeners of 2000 era. It took him almost a month and a half to compose "Udja Kale Kawan" .[14]
Ruchi Sharma of Rediff wrote "Gadar - Ek Prem Katha comes close to being fantastic, even though it is overheated in bits. Not to miss, this".[16]Taran Adarsh gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "On the whole, GADAR is worth the watch for its brilliant dramatic and confrontation sequences, splendid performances and touching moments that overpower the two flaws in the film ? the excessive length (the narrative needs to be trimmed by at least 15 minutes in the second half!) and a weak musical score".[17]
The film faced protests, including incidents of arson and violence, at the time of its release particularly in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bhopal by some Muslim groups who were opposed to the depiction of an interfaith marriage between a Sikh man and Muslim woman as shown in the film. The films portrayal of partition violence was also alleged to be biased against Muslims. Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh was also petitioned by one of the groups to implement a ban in the state, though it did not materialize.[19]
The film had also run into controversy an year earlier while filming at the Bara Imambara (a place for religious congregation) in Lucknow which was protested to by Shia Muslims, and the film had to be reshot at the nearby Rumi Gate.[19]
Arif Masood, a local politician, was the leader of one of the protesting mobs in Bhopal which seriously injured a police constable. Reacting to the violence Deol said "What is sad about the protests is that they were started by cowards, but it is innocent people who are being hurt." Actress Shabana Azmi defended the film's right of exhibition stating, "The movie reinforces the canard that every Muslim is a Pakistani. It mixes issues of identity and nationalism, which should be handled sensitively. But it has been cleared by the Censor Board and has every right to be screened."[19] Then Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, writing in Saamna too found 'nothing objectionable' in the film.[19]
Box office
Gadar: Ek Prem Katha collected ₹1.33 billion (US$16 million)[6] in its initial theatrical run and its adjusted gross is ₹4.86 billion (US$58 million) as per 2017 ticket sales. The film was a stupendous success, and was declared an All-Time Blockbuster by Box Office India.[20]Gadar: Ek Prem Katha ranks among the top 3 Indian films in all-time highest footfalls since 1990s.[21] In the United Kingdom, Gadar: Ek Prem Katha grossed around £280,000.[22]
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