Gadar 2 Director Anil Sharma Was Sceptical About Casting Ameesha Patel As Sakina

Ameesha Patel is currently basking in the success of her career best-grosser Gadar 2. The sequel to the 2001 film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, the Sunny Deol-Ameesha starrer has become the fastest Hindi film to enter the ₹500 crore club. Amid the massive success of the film, Ameesha Patel talked about the film’s director Anil Sharma, and how he did not fully believe in her playing Sakina. 

3 things you need to know 

• Ameesha Patel headlines Gadar 2 alongside Sunny Deol.
• The actress reprised her role as Sakina in the sequel. 
• Gadar 2 has become the second highest-grossing Bollywood movie of all time. 

How Anil Sharma's perception about Ameesha Patel changed 

In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Ameesha Patel spilled the beans on her bond with the Gadar 2 director Anil Sharma and how he was cautious about casting her as Sakina. She recalled Anil saying, ”Mujhe laga ye bade ghar ki ladki hai, Mercedes mein aate thi, designer clothes pehenti thi, mujh laga itne mushkil role ke liye yeh mehnat nahi karege (I thought she is from a rich family, she comes in Mercedes, wears designer clothes – I thought she won’t work hard for such a difficult role).” 

(Ameesha Patel and Anil Sharma at Gadar 2 success party | Image: Varinder Chawla)

Ameesha then added that after the work on the film was over, Anil praised her for her dedication. She remembered him telling everyone that she would “work for 11-12 hours. She would read Quran, go to Dargah, she used to see how girls from Pakistan would be like.” She also revealed that Ani wanted a rich girl to play the character as Sakina comes from a rich, well-educated family. 

Ameesha Patel says ‘stalwarts of industry’ cautioned against against Gadar 

As Gadar 2 achieves new milestones with each passing day, the cast of the film continues to make major revelations. In the same interview, Ameesha recalled that industry heavyweights advised her against starring in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha because of Anil Sharma. She said, “Stalwarts of the industry told me not to do Gadar: Ek Prem Katha because of Anil Sharma. They didn’t have faith that as a director Anil would be able to do justice to the subject.”