Gadar turns 20: Director describes iconic hand pump scene, says 'intellectuals did not understand the emotions'

Director Anil Sharma is excited about the craze around his 2001 film, Gadar Ek Prem Katha, which featured Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel in lead roles. The film turns 20 on Tuesday.

Director Anil Sharma got nostalgic as his 2001 film Gadar Ek Prem Katha turns 20 on Tuesday. Talking about the film and remembering the iconic sequence in which Sunny Deol uprooted a hand pump, the filmmaker said that intellectuals failed to understand it.

Gadar Ek Prem Katha turns 20: Sunny Deol in a scene from the film.

Sunny Deol, along with Amrish Puri and Ameesha Patel, featured in Gadar Ek Prem Katha, that released on June 15 and was widely loved by the audience. The film, however, received mixed reviews at the time.

One of the most iconic scenes is the one where Sunny Deol uproots a hand pump in anger during a face-off with Amrish Puri. Filmmaker Anil told Hindustan Times in an exclusive chat, "When I was writing the scene, I felt like throwing the entire building on Amrish Puri (his character, Ashraf Ali). But that was not practical. So, I decided to put the handpump in the scene. It was not just about uprooting the handpump, it was an outburst of emotions. It was symbolic."

He added, "When people asked me how can it be possible, I told them, 'When Lakshman needed sanjeevani (herb) in Ramayan, Hanuman picked up the entire mountain.' Tara Singh may not be Hanuman but he can uproot a hand pump. We believe (in Hanuman's deeds) as we are emotionally involved. It (the scene) was a creative liberty we took, and every person sitting in the theatre watching Gadar Ek Prem Katha related with the emotions and clapped for the sequence. Many intellectuals do not understand this as they believe in working on logic alone."

Anil further elaborated about the sequence and said, "Not many people agreed with the scene when it was written. Most intellectuals felt it was too far-fetched. I do not say intellectual people are not emotional, they are. But they believe in logic, they believe two and two make four. But for emotions, two and two can make five, or, even ten. There are no definitions for emotions and that scene was about the emotional outburst."

"People lay down their lives for their country, a mother may do so for her child, or lovers sacrifice their lives for their loved ones. These do not fall under any definition of logic (but they do happen). Love can be defined beyond logic. Logic is a very materialistic thing, that involves mathematics and science. But few things are beyond science," he added.

The filmmaker also said that the India-Pakistan sentiment may have been an important part, but not the only factor to make Gadar Ek Prem Katha a hit. "The story of Gadar is a couple's story. It is the story of Ramayan. A child wants his dad to bring his mom back. Gadar was not a hit because of the India-Pakistan angle, it was a hit because of the emotions involved. It was a love story. A love story between a husband and wife, a son and his mom, his dad. A love story between Ashraf Ali (Amrish) and Sakeena (Amisha). The way Shaktiman (film's writer) wrote the film, all added up for the film to be a huge hit."

A nostalgic Anil also revealed that the first review of Gadar Ek Prem Katha that he read, was under the headline 'Gutter Ek Prem Katha'. However, he had already received a call informing him about the love people showered on the film so he was not too affected. "I thought, 'people will write what they have in their minds'. The critical reaction, especially from the Hindi belt, was great. I was told 'you made another Mughal-E-Azam, you made another Sholay'. The people in Bombay (Mumbai), however, did not give (the film a good review). Maximum, Gadar Ek Prem Katha got 2.5 stars from the critics."

In a fun segment, Anil also said the concept of a remake would be futile as there is no one who could make Gadar Ek Prem Katha, other than himself. He added that even today, he'd make the exact same film. He also said that a younger Dharmendra may have suited the role of Tara Singh, if not Sunny. For the role of Ashraf Ali, Anil could have picked Pran as an alternate choice.