Ameesha Patel reveals why Sanjay Leela Bhansali asked her to retire after Gadar in 2001

Ameesha Patel is currently basking in the box office success of Gadar 2 in which she's seen reprising the role of Sakeena, a character she essayed in the first instalment - Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. In a recent interview, the actress recalled enjoying similar success when the first Gadar film released in 2001. She, however, said that filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali had asked her to retire after Gadar: Ek Prem Katha became a blockbuster hit.

3 things you need to know 

• Ameesha Patel plays the female lead in Gadar 2. 
• She essays the role of Sakeena, the wife of protagonist Tara Singh, played by Sunny Deol. 
• Gadar 2 has become the highest-grossing film of Ameesha Patel’s career. 

Ameesha Patel recalls what Sanjay Leela Bhansali told her post Gadar: Ek Prem Katha success

In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Ameesha said, ace director Sanjay Leela Bhansali sent her a letter praising her performance in the first Gadar film. “Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, after watching Gadar, wrote a really beautiful letter to me," Ameesha recalled adding when she met with him, he told her she should retire. Continuing, the actress said when she asked him "why?", he said, ‘Because you’ve already achieved in two films what most people don't achieve in their entire career. Once in a lifetime, a Mughal-e-Azam, a Mother India, a Pakeezah, a Sholay gets made. You had it in your second film. So what's next?' I didn't understand it at that time because I was a kid, so new to the film world (sic)," Ameesha recounted.

(Ameesha Patel reprises her role as Sakeena in Gadar 2 | Image: Youtube Screengrab)

In the same interview, Ameesha admitted that what the Ramleela director told her was not entirely false. It, in fact, turned out to be true as none of her films, up until Gadar 2 came along, surpassed the success of Gadar. "Gadar set the bar so high that anything of my films that were superhits after that, whether it was Humraaz (2002), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) or Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), it was a straight comparison to Gadar."

Set in 1971, Gadar 2 follows Tara Singh (Deol)'s journey to Pakistan to rescue his son, Charanjeet Singh, played by Utkarsh Sharma, from the Pakistani Army. It also features Ameesha Patel, Manish Wadhwa and Gaurav Chopra.

(With inputs from PTI)