Gadar 2
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' (), subtitled on-screen with ''The Katha Continues'', is a 2023 Indian
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
-language period action drama film directed by Anil Sharma and written by Shaktimaan Talwar. It is a sequel to the iconic cult film '' Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'' (2001) with
Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1957), better known as Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, and politician. One of the highest grossing actors of Indian cinema, he has worked in Sunny Deol filmography, more than 100 Hindi ...
,
Ameesha Patel Ameesha Patel (; born 9 June 1975) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi and Telugu films. Patel is the recipient of several awards such as a Filmfare Award and a Zee Cine Award. Patel made her acting debut in 2000 with the romantic ...
and Utkarsh Sharma reprising their starring roles from the previous film. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Tara Singh returns to India and Pakistan in order to rescue his imprisoned son Jeete. ''Gadar 2'' was theatrically released on 11 August 2023. A major commercial success, it grossed over worldwide against a production budget of , becoming the fourth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023, the ninth highest-grossing Hindi film of all-time, and the fifth highest-grossing Hindi film in India.


Plot

In 1954, Hamid Iqbal, the Major-General of
Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...
, wants to exact vengeance on Tara Singh for eliminating his 40 soldiers during Tara's escape from Pakistan with his wife Sakeena and his son Charanjeet "Jeete". Iqbal gets Sakeena's father Ashraf Ali executed for aiding Tara in his escape to
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. In 1971, Tara, a goods supplier to the
Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
cantonment, lives with Sakeena and Jeete, who soon leaves for
Chandigarh Chandigarh is a city and union territory in northern India, serving as the shared capital of the states of Punjab and Haryana. Situated near the foothills of the Shivalik range of Himalayas, it borders Haryana to the east and Punjab in the ...
for his studies. One day, Tara is contacted by Lt. Colonel Devendra Rawat for help in supplying Indian soldiers with weapons as a skirmish is taking place with the Pakistani soldiers at the border during the Third Indo-Pak War. After reaching there, Tara is spotted by Iqbal, who orders an explosion at the border, leading to many of the soldiers getting captured. Jeete returns from Chandigarh to find Sakeena in shambles. Upon learning about Tara's disappearance at the border, Jeete leaves for Pakistan against everyone's wishes to rescue Tara. After arriving in Pakistan, Jeete meets Tara's close friend Gul Khan, who helps him secure a job at Kurban Khan's hotel, which supplies food to the captive Indian soldiers. Jeete meets and gets close to Kurban's daughter Muskaan, who continues to support him upon learning that Jeete is an Indian and had come there to rescue his father. Jeete infiltrates the prison only to get captured and discovers that Tara was never captured. On the other hand, Tara resurfaces in Indian Punjab and reunites with Sakeena, revealing that he fell into a stream and was rescued by a Bakarwal tribe, but went into a coma. Upon learning that Jeete is in Pakistan and his communication has stopped, Tara leaves for Pakistan to extract Jeete from prison. Landing in Pakistan, Tara meets Gul Khan and learns about Jeete's capture. Iqbal beats up Jeete and gets him publicly humiliated by falsely accusing him of assaulting Muskaan, who is forced to lie to protect Kurban. However, Tara arrives and escapes with Jeete amidst the Pakistani army.
Yahya Khan Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (4 February 191710 August 1980) was a Pakistani army officer who served as the third president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. He also served as the fifth Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan, commander-in-chief of the Pakistan ...
, the
President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.
and the Commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, orders a humiliated Iqbal to capture Tara within 72 hours. Tara and his team contact Sakeena, but are chased by Iqbal's men, eventually getting separated. Following a series of combats and chases, Tara and Jeete finally reunite and are on their way to leave Pakistan when Muskaan and Kurban Khan show up with their family, who are planning to leave for
Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...
. Kurban Khan asks Tara to accept Muskaan as Jeete's bride, to which Jeete and Tara happily agree. However, Iqbal captures them in an ambush and kills Muskaan's brother Farid. Iqbal tries to execute them but Tara frees himself and with Jeete fights the army singlehandedly, escaping with everybody in an army tank. They arrive at the Indian border, where Iqbal again tries to kill Tara, but is gunned down by Rawat and the Indian soldiers. Rawat approves Jeete to enlist in the army, while Tara, Jeete and Muskaan reunite with Sakeena.


Cast

Archive footage from the first film and CGI was used for
Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and Theatre of India, theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himsel ...
's character as Ashraf Ali, Sakeena's father.


Production


Development

Zee Studios Zee Studios is an Indian film production and distribution company, that specializes in film, streaming, and television, content development and production. It also specializes in film marketing and distribution. It is based in Mumbai, India, ...
,
Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1957), better known as Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, and politician. One of the highest grossing actors of Indian cinema, he has worked in Sunny Deol filmography, more than 100 Hindi ...
,
Ameesha Patel Ameesha Patel (; born 9 June 1975) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi and Telugu films. Patel is the recipient of several awards such as a Filmfare Award and a Zee Cine Award. Patel made her acting debut in 2000 with the romantic ...
and Utkarsh Sharma officially announced ''Gadar 2: The Katha Continues'' on 15 October 2021 (Dusshera) on their
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
accounts, revealing the release date 2022 with motion poster. The first poster of the sequel titled ''Gadar 2'' was unveiled on 26 January 2023 (Republic Day) and it shows Tara Singh, played by Sunny, with a hammer.


Casting

Sunny Deol reprises his role of Tara Singh, but was initially hesitant about revisiting the role, believing that films like '' Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'' can be made only once in history. He states, "We had made ''Gadar'' but the audience made it a Blockbuster. Initially, I was a bit apprehensive about whether we would do justice and continue the legacy of the first part." The film's director Anil Sharma revealed how he convinced Deol to return, stating, "When I narrated Gadar 2, Sunny was a little hesitant because he felt Gadar was a blockbuster and didn't want to meddle with it. But I requested him that the entire nation has been requesting a sequel and we should respect their emotions. After many calls, he finally agreed to hear the story. When we sat down for narration and finished it, he had tears in his eyes. That's how the journey of Gadar 2 started." Ameesha Patel and Utkarsh Sharma also reprise their roles of Sakeena and Charanjeet "Jeete" Singh from the first film. Simrat Kaur was also cast for the film.
Manish Wadhwa Manish Wadhwa (born 1972) is an Indian actor and voice actor. He is best known for his roles Chanakya in ''Chandragupta Maurya'', Balaji Vishwanath Bhatt in ''Peshwa Bajirao'', Kans in '' Paramavatar Shri Krishna'', Amal Nanda/Dansh in '' ...
was offered the role of a Pakistani army general in the film. Rohit Choudhary, was also cast in the role of a Pakistani army general in the film. Luv Sinha and
Gaurav Chopra Gaurav Chopra (born 4 April 1979) is an Indian television actor. He is best known for starring on '' Uttaran'' and '' Sadda Haq'' as Raghuvendra Pratap Rathore and Prof Abhay Singh Ranawat respectively. He has appeared as a contestant on '' B ...
have also been cast in important role. The shoot of the film was wrapped up by May 2023. Writer Shaktimaan revealed the character of Gul Khan played by
Mushtaq Khan Mushtaq Khan (born December 31, 1959) is an Indian film and television actor and comedian who has worked in several Bollywood, Hindi films in a career spanning three decades. He is best known for his roles in films like ''Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke ...
was based on a real person ''Qasi Sahab'' who gave his father shelter in his home during the communal riots. Ashraf Ali, Sakeena's father, played by
Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and Theatre of India, theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himsel ...
in the first film; also appears in this film. Puri died in 2005 and his likeness was used to bring back the character through archive footage from ''Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'' and
computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in Digital art, art, Publishing, printed media, Training simulation, simulators, videos and video games. These images ...
.


Soundtrack

The film's music is composed by Mithoon,
Uttam Singh Uttam Singh (born 25 May 1948) is an Indian music director and a well-known violinist. He has also worked as a music arranger, programmer and recordist for many Bollywood films. He worked as a music assistant for Ilaiyaraaja in numerous Tamil la ...
(uncredited) and Monty Sharma, while lyrics are written by Sayeed Quadri and Sunil Sirvaiya.
Udit Narayan Udit Narayan Jha (born 1 December 1955) is an Nepali and Indian playback singer whose songs have been featured mainly in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. He has also sung in various other languages including Telugu language, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil ...
and
Alka Yagnik Alka Yagnik (born 20 March 1966) is an Indian playback singer who works predominantly in Hindi cinema. One of the most prominent singers of 1990s era Bollywood, she has received several accolades, including two National Film Awards, two Ben ...
reprise their roles as the singing voices of Deol and Patel, respectively. The first single titled "Udd Jaa Kaale Kaava" was released on 29 June 2023. The second single titled "Khairiyat" was released on 9 July 2023. The third single titled "Main Nikla Gaddi Leke" was released on 20 July 2023. The soundtrack album released by
Zee Music Company Zee Music Co. (ZMC) is an Indian music company, a subsidiary of Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It carries its business activities mainly from New Delhi. The company has captured a major chunk of market share in Music of Bollywood, Bollywood m ...
on 4 August 2023, followed by an extended album on 8 September 2023.


Release

''Gadar 2'' was theatrically released on 11 August 2023. The box-office response prompted several cinemas to play post-midnight and early morning shows of the film.


Home media

The film was premiered on
ZEE5 ZEE5 or Z5 is an Indian subscription video on demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on We ...
from 6 October 2023. It enjoyed a highly successful launch, quickly topping global viewership charts upon its release.


Reception


Box office

On its opening day, ''Gadar 2'' collected a total India net of . In its first weekend, it collected over , making it ninth top opening weekend for Hindi films. As of 14 September 2023, the film has grossed in India, with a further in overseas, for a worldwide total of .


Critical response

Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media, as well as his reviews for Bollywood Hungama. Career Taran Adarsh started his journ ...
gave the film 4.5/5 stars and wrote “Gadar 2 is old-school desi entertainment at its best. Sunny Deol returns to the big screen with a vengeance… He is as ferocious as ever. The patriotic flavour coupled with tremendous recall value will make it a huge money-spinner. Gadar 2 lives up to massive expectations… Has it all: drama, emotions, action, two beautiful songs rom the first partand the hand pump sequence, of course. Anil Sharma makes sure he packs every ingredient on the shelf to create a big-screen entertainer.” Anindita Mukherjee from ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...
'' gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Gadar 2 supersedes expectations, as it successfully tugs at your heartstrings. And there's Sunny Paaji to do all the heavy-lifting (pun intended). Shubhra Gupta of ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...
'' gave 1.5/5 stars and wrote "What we can confirm is that Sunny paaji can still snarl effectively, and that dhai-kilo-ka-haath has residual potency. We can also confirm the reappearance of a hand-pump. Anuj Kumar from ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'' wrote "It is not as provocative as the original as driver Anil Sharma seeks to take a middle path. Perhaps, it feels like that because the socio-political atmosphere outside the theatre has become much more dramatic and shrill than what it was when the original released in 2001. Still, it is good that Sharma has toned down the jingoistic tone."
Komal Nahta Komal Nahta (born 30 April 1964) is an Indian film trade analyst. Nahta is the publisher of "Film Information" and also a television show host. He is an anchor of the trade show ETC Bollywood Business on the Bollywood TV channels ETC and Zee Ci ...
said that "Gadar 2’ is not a film, its a celebration, an emotion that touches the heart of every Indian." Monika Rawal Kukreja of ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media Limited, an entity controlled by the Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia, the daughter o ...
'' wrote "Gadar 2 does falter in terms of story and its pace, though it brings back the mass entertainment and that can surely make it a paisa vasool watch." ''Gadar 2'' also became the first film screened for Lok Sabha members in the New Parliament building.


Impact

''Gadar 2'' has had a profound impact, tapping into nostalgia while simultaneously aligning with the patriotic fervor. The film’s storyline, set 22 years after '' Gadar Ek Prem Katha'', brings back iconic characters like Sakeena and Tara, alongside unforgettable moments such as the handpump scene and the classic '' Main Nikla Gaddi Leke'' song. These nostalgic elements are reintroduced, creating a sense of continuity and allowing audiences to relive the magic of the first film. At screenings of the movie, slogans like ''Hindustan Zindabad'' and ''Bharat Mata Ki Jai'' were raised in unison by the audience. One of the film’s key dialogues, ''“Ghazwa-e-Hind nahi, yeh Jazba-e-Hind hai,”'' captures its central theme of patriotism and national unity. ''Gadar 2'' has also had a significant impact on cinema-going habits, particularly in single-screen theaters. A Live Mint report highlighted that some single-screen cinemas have gone so far as to add shows as early as 1:00 am and 4:30 am to accommodate the overwhelming demand from audiences. The weekend releases of Jailer, Gadar 2, Bholaa Shankar, and OMG 2 had a massive impact on the Indian box office, contributing over Rs 390 crore to the industry's gross earnings. This marked one of the busiest weekends in recent cinema history, with over 2.10 crore moviegoers attending screenings across the country. The weekend also saw a record-breaking footfall of more than 82 lakh moviegoers. According to a joint statement by the Multiplex Association of India (MAI) and the Producers Guild of India, the remarkable box-office success over the weekend was a testament to the power of mainstream storytelling done right.


Accolades


Sequel

A sequel was announced during the end credits. Anil Sharma said "You'll have to wait for that. The fruit of patience is sweet, just like this one (Gadar 2). Some thoughts have come to me and Shaktimaan Ji's minds. So just wait everything will happen.”


Notes


References


External links

*
''Gadar 2''
at
Bollywood Hungama Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is an Indian entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000. The website provides n ...
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