I watched GADAR2 much after it made a successful run at the Box-office. If it was not a family outing- I would have walked away from the movie in intermission or even before it. But I silently endured the torture. My first reaction was – making such movies should be a criminal offence even if it celebrated patriotic jingoism and showed the Pakistan army in bad light.
Then the next set of questions raised their head, and I have only some theories to offer. The answers and theories could be disturbing. What made Gadar2 a success? Why are people still watching it? I watched a late-night show ending at 130 AM, and it was packed. The generous media rating ranges from 2-2.5, and IMDb rating at 6.4. Is it Sunny Deol, who is not in 30% of the frames, or is the Director’s son and the new heroine making it a success? Or it is simply the timing! We will come back to it.
Gadar2
Set in the period just before the 1971 war, Tara Singh (Sunny Deol) illegally and easily re-enter Pakistan after 22 years, this time to bring back his son Jeete (Utkarsh Sharma ). And, no surprise, he fights the whole of Pakistan, the mob and the army with some support from his son, thus saving the pride and honour of the country and his son’s life. There is Sakeena ( Ameesha Patel), who escaped Pakistan with Tara Singh in 1954 – her father, Ashraf Ali, has been hanged after being branded a traitor by Major General Hamid Iqbal (Manish Wadhwa) – who hates Indians.
Hamid Iqbal’s family was wiped off in partition. He dreams and believes in taking revenge for the killing of 40 Pakistani soldiers by Tara Sing in the episode Gadar. And there is a mannequin mould Muskaan (Simrat Kaur), the love of Jeete, which is irrelevant and maybe a distraction to the movie sequel- but then a love angle was needed for Utkarsh Sharma – the hero. He looks promising in the slow-motion stunts and fight scene. He is much better and more expressive with a beard than his clean-shaven avatar.
Hindustan Zindabad
And there is a secular pitch after all the Pakistan bashing and shots of citizens helping Tara Singh in Pakistan. “Hindustan Musalmanon ka hai, Christians ka hai, Sikhon ka hai, Hindustaniyon ka hai.” There is a patriotic pitch- the Tiranga will keep flying higher regardless of what is said. That if Indians raise their voice- Pakistan will be wiped off. And then even a peace proposal terming Partition Riots as an incident we should all forget.
GADAR2 Is Not GADAR
Gadar was a film that celebrated a cross-border love story with the backdrop of Partition riots. Sunny Deol made history as Tara Singh and his handpump uprooting had all the audience support who loved the dialogues. The truth is that Sunny Deol’s powerful delivery makes you believe the stupidity unleashed in the fight scenes. Everything is possible for passionate, determined Tara Singh. He even shouts for his son when he is being chased by the army and the mob. A time when he should be silently planning his actions and not exposing his location. But then, it would not be Sunny Deol.
The story in GADAR2 remains almost the same, with multiple linkages to Gadar, but it does not hold. Sunny Deol is a surprise packet. His screen presence is solid, and dialogue delivery reminds one of Gadar.
Manish Wadhwa as Major General Hamid Iqbal is no patch on Ashraf (Amrish Puri) of Gadar, but he does enough to be hated by the audience. The Pakistan army caricature seems amateurish and over-stereotyped for the liking of the Indian audience.
The Success Of Gadar2.
It is an unqualified success, creating much-needed relief for the film industry.
Is this a reflection of the social situation in the country? Is it a sad mirror of the majority-minority conflict in certain geographies? What is making people go to the theatres? Is that the release of their angst? I hope not.
Or is this just a simple pattern of EID for the Khans and Independence Day or Republic Day for charged patriotic feeling? However, that could be too much simplifying the reason for success. Is it a success for being religiously polarised though it comes with a secular message? I hope not.
Gadar2 Balancing Act.
The director plays safe by blaming the individuals leveraging the religious divide than the religion itself. It refers to the false claims of Muslims in India being targeted. But there are enough visual references of mob furry and citizens’ involvement in tracking and chasing Tara Singh, as there are of the citizens helping him. The reference to Bhagwat Geeta and Kuran as a choice is melodramatic. The Hindu seeking blessing at the Mazar and the muslin revering Geeta- all are part of the balancing act. Anything less could have caused a certificate change or censor questions.
NETNET.
Gadar2 is an unqualified success of this time and era. It is making all the right noises in Media and cash register. Still, I do not recommend you waste time watching it- unless you are Sunny Deol – Tara Singh’s fan.
STAR CAST: Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel, Utkarsh Sharma, Manish Wadhwa, Simrat Kaur, Gaurav Chopra. Director: Anand Sharma. Writer: Shaktimaan Talwar. Music: Mithoon.
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