Anil Sharma on 20 years of 'Lagaan' & 'Gadar': "It wasn't clash, it was celebration"

Lagaan and Gadar both released on the same day and made a significant mark in the history of Indian cinema. Both the film received a lot of appreciation and even performed well at the box office. On the occasion of 20 years of Lagaan and Gadar, Gadar director Anil Sharma talks about the records created by both the films and compared how previously two films that used to clash at the box office were more of a celebration than a clash and how people nowadays are afraid of a clash.

Anil Sharma says Lagaan and Gadar weren't a clash but a celebration

In an interview with BollywoodLife, director Anil Sharma revealed that both the films Lagaan and Gadar created a festival-like atmosphere in the country. He added that he saw Lagaan and thoroughly enjoyed it and it also brought a lot of honor to India whereas Gadar also worked very well and thus a festival-like atmosphere was created throughout the nation. More to the point, he said if people used to watch the 12 pm show of Lagaan, they'd go and see the 3 pm show of Gadar, and if they'd watch the 12 pm show of Gadar, then they'd see the 3 pm show of Lagaan making it a craze, a festival for cinema all over India. Furthermore, he added that both the films created a lot of love for cinema in the country, and motivated many people to make good films so it was more like a celebration than a clash. 

After a while, he talked about how filmmakers these days are scared of clashing with each other, he said that people are now afraid to clash and only one big movie comes on the screen on a single Friday. More to the point, he added that previously people were confident about their films. Later on, he wished that the cinema industry sees more such Lagaan and Gadar like movies and added that he hopes those days of festivals and celebrations of cinema happen again every year.  He added that at least one film a year like Lagaan and Gadar should come on Friday and makers shouldn’t be afraid of clashing instead those films should compensate each other, hug each other and see how much fun everyone would have at the theatres. In the end, he said that the dreamy atmosphere that Lagaan and Gadar created should happen once every year.

IMAGE: STILL FROM GADAR