Sunny Deol On Gadar Vs Lagaan Box Office Clash 22 Years Ago: “Don’t Understand Why People Compare”

Long before Hollywood witnessed the box office clash of two big releases Barbie and Oppenheimer, Bollywood saw a similar phenomenon. Nearly 22 years ago, Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2 and Aamir Khan’s Lagaan clashed at the box office. Both films did exceedingly well and went on to achieve cult status. While Gadar went on to emerge as the highest-grossing Hindi film since Hum Apace Hain Koun..!, Lagaan became the third highest-grossing Hindi film of the year and earned critical acclaim. Now, ahead of Gadar 2′s release, the film’s leading man Sunny Deol has spoken about the epic clash. Sunny Deol’s take on the issue comes at a time when Gadar 2 is also set to witness a box office clash with Akshay Kumar’s OMG 2. 

Speaking to ETimes, Sunny Deol said, “Gadar did 100 crore plus, while Lagaan did much lesser. I don’t understand why people compare – whether it’s from the business or likeability point. Gadar didn’t have the perception, people thought it is this masala film, yeh puranic type ki picture hail, purines type ke gainer hay. On the other hand, people thought Lagaan was classic, etc. The so-called people who talk about films had run down Gadar completely. It went on to become a people’s film, and they loved it. At award shows, I remember that they made a spoof of Gadar, but we weren’t bothered by it. It has happened with some of my other films too, like Khayal and Dil [another Aamir Khan film], which clashed. There is no comparison, but people like to do it. What I am trying to say is that jo film zyada acchi hoti hai phir bhi aap usko doosre films ke barabari mein le aatey ho.Jis cheez ki barabari nahin hai, mat karo [Don’t compare two things that are not on the same level].”

In Gadar 2, Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel will be reprising their roles of Tara Singh and Sakeena. While the first film was a cross-border love story set in the background of partition, Gadar 2 is set against the backdrop of the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war.

About the film, Sunny Deol said, “Gadar – Ek Prem Katha has been an eminent part of my life, personally as well as professionally. Tara Singh from Gadar isn’t just a protagonist but went on to become a cult icon that defied all odds and crossed all boundaries for his Family and Love. Collaborating with the team after 22 years was a creatively enriching experience.”

You can watch the teaser here:

Gadar 2 has been directed by Anil Sharma and produced by Zee Studios,  Anil Sharma Productions, and MM Moviez.