Anil Sharma, in a recent interview, shared how Sunny Deol was initially apprehensive about the iconic handpump scene in his 2001 blockbuster film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha.
Talk about pop culture scenes in Bollywood and you simply can’t miss the iconic handpump sequence that features in Sunny Deol‘s 2001 cross border film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha! But do you guys know that initially, Sunny wasn’t convinced with this scene, and the shoot of the film was even halted for a few hours before the ‘Border’ actor finally agreed to perform that sequence.
In a recent conversation with Lallantop, the film’s director Anil Sharma recalled the shooting of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, and narrated behind-the-scenes story about this iconic sequence.
The filmmaker admitted that a lot of people including the Gadar writer, the producers and even Sunny Deol were not convinced about the handpump scene.
ALSO READ: Sunny Deol Has Never Read Film Scripts, Dialogues In His Career; Here Is The Reason Why!
“They did not find it logical, the shoot had to be halted for a couple of hours to discuss and debate that this wouldn’t happen. I was convinced that it was doable, so I explained that my idea was to show the extreme steps one can take for love,” Sharma recalled.
He continued, “The idea was that anyone who speaks ill about my country angers me so much that I can uproot a building, to show that impact and intensity in the anger, I wanted an element that could be torn from the ground, a tree or a fountain would be too big to execute, that’s when a hand pump came to my mind, because they were placed at frequent intervals in those days. During the discussion, I referred to an incident from Ramayana where Hanumanji gets the entire Gowardhan mountain to save Laxman’s life. So Tara Singh could at least do this, I had the conviction to portray his anger that way, and it worked.”
Anil Sharma hit the bullseye with this sequence as it continues to remain one of Sunny Deol’s most memorable scenes on screen. 22 years after the success of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, Anil and Sunny reunited again in 2023 for its sequel, Gadar 2. This film too, clicked with the audience and went on to become one of the highest grossing movies of that year.
