Exclusive | Ameesha Patel on playing mother at a young age in Gadar: People felt I was murdering my career

Ameesha Patel. Pic/Yogen Shah

Ameesha Patel is once again stealing the thunder as Sakeena in the blockbuster, Gadar 2. Delivering yet another box-office winner, the actress is ruling the headlines alongwith her co-star Sunny Deol. She returns to the character after 22 years and the audience is loving Sakeena's pairing with Sunny's Tara Singh. In an exclusive interview with mid-day.com, the actress spoke about the magic of the Gadar franchise and what makes it a blockbuster.

During the exclusive conversation, Ameesha said, "Gadar 2 was made with sincerity and not just with the aim to get Friday, Saturday and Sunday numbers. The film has a proper script, good music, brilliant action and to top it all, Tara and Sakeena are in the hearts of every Indian. They have loved the couple and the film for 22 years and it is evident that the curiosity made people throng to theatres on the first day of release. Maintaining beautiful nuances, the Gadar-ness of the film and not altering and messing around with it and not being insecure about anything made Gadar the franchise it is today."

When it comes to franchises, filmmakers often replace older actors and bring in new faces. That wasn't the case with Gadar 2. "You're seeing historic numbers because the audience can relate to the family they have loved. Had we been replaced, I don't think these numbers would have come. Tara and Sakeena cannot be replaced. Their love is set in stone and in the audience's hearts. People play around with franchises with the hope to get numbers and that's why they don't go up to the mark and lose the essence of the first film. Gadar didn't mess with that," she opined.

In the initial stages of her career, Ameesha played a mother on screen in Gadar. Did she view it as a risk? The actress replied, "In fact, I fought to play a mother on screen. Bigwigs of the industry warned me because I played my age in films like Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000), Yeh Hai Jalwa (2002), Zameer (2005), etc. When I had to play the role of a mother at such a young age, people said, 'You're crazy for committing a huge crime by murdering your own career.' But I had faith in the subject and Tara-Sakeena. I felt Gadar was the most unusually beautiful love story. It was pure and unconditional. I went with my gut and the rest is history."

Speaking about revisiting the character of Sakeena after 22 years, Ameesha shared, "I don't think Tara and Sakeena have left Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel. They have lived with us these many years. The minute we were on set as Tara and Sakeena, it was magical."

Superstars of the '90s like Shah Rukh Khan, Sunny Deol and others are ruling the box office in 2023. When asked whether Indian cinema missed this phase, Ameesha said, "They're the true blue stars and that's why their careers spanned 30-40 years. It is very easy to get carried away by new people but old is gold. They've made a place in people's hearts with their merit and hard work and not just on the basis of the Friday they have a release. Their loyalty for them will never go. The minute they deliver a product, they're set. People will lap it up because they love these stars. Be it Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Sunny Deol, Ajay Devgn or Akshay Kumar, they're loved and people have put them on a pedestal for a reason."