Gadar Review -A Mass Hysteria With An Unbeatable India vs. Pakistan Substance

Anil Sharma's Gadar, starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel, created history back then in a single-screen era. I was 9 when the film was on Cloud 9 in cinemas. That single-screen era, that atmosphere inside the auditorium, advance booking queues outside the ticket windows, throwing crackers and coins during the screening of the film—everything is fading away with time. The multiplex era has eaten up our audience, with high ticket prices and urban culture taking over mass hysteria. Gadar is the last of its kind when it comes to recalling electrifying experiences on the big screen.

Gadar—the last Bollywood movie to cross 5 crore footfalls (only Bahubali 2 surpassed it in Hindi markets), the last Bollywood movie that gives you an enriching experience of watching a mass blockbuster with ultimate rooted content that just can't be replaced. And what's bigger than the India-Pakistan substance? Imagine a film riding on an Indo-Pak reference with Partition's backdrop and having an Indian jatt marry a Muslim girl who is supposed to become a Pakistani from an Indian Muslim, her father becoming one of the biggest hatemongers and wanting a cold-blooded Punjabi to become a Pakistani, and the Punjabi macho Munda going against the entire nation—OMG! It's too much to handle, so it doesn't matter even if you are clashing with a classic like "Lagaan," you are bound to take the Indian masses by storm. Gadad did exactly that!

Reviewing Gadar today is a difficult job since I have been through thousands of classics across the globe and have seen how cinema has evolved over the years in India. Well, I'd say nothing's changed. Be it RRR or KGF, these latest nationwide sensations had nothing extraordinary in their storylines, except that they offered a high amount of community viewing, which has been missing for almost two decades now. Gadar is far superior in terms of storyline, screenplay, massy elements, music, dialogues and performances. So, it's not as difficult to review Gadar as it seems to be, especially after watching it in a packed theatre with restored 4K visuals and Dolby Atmos.

Yes, Gadar still works on many fronts, except for technical aspects that couldn't have been restored to the level of modern filmmaking. Of course, I can expect a sound design like Interstellar, action scenes like Mad Max Fury Road, and visuals like Avatar 2 from a grounded, massy Hindi flick made in 2001. Gadar hasn't lost an ounce of its magic when you talk about films that provide wholesale entertainment to all ages and all kinds of audiences. Hindustan Zindabaad still gives me goosebumps. An immediate silence after "Ashraf Ali... Ashraf Ali.. Ashraf Ali" still leaves me in jitters for the next two minutes. A water pump scene may look too much now, but it still had audiences hooting like anything. The long train sequence in the climax is outdated for 2023, but I couldn't afford to take my eyes off the screen for a moment. If that's not magic, then what is it?

Gadar is a prime example of how to write a massy story that can bring the entire nation together and celebrate the silver screen experience madly. Something that we all did when MS Dhoni hit the match-winning six in the World Cup Final or what we have been doing for three decades whenever Sachin Tendulkar scored a century. We just don't know who's watching or what we are doing, we just celebrate it like madness. Gadar makes you celebrate cinema that wildly. The storyline has enough to keep you interested, and the screenplay manages to keep you hooked for almost 3 hours. Gadar is uplifted by its dialogues, patriotic appeal, India vs Pakistan hysteria, chartbuster music, and power packed performances. Anil Sharma does an unbelievable job of putting all these blockbuster elements together to make the best film of his career.

Sunny Deol as an angry man who can put down anybody coming in front of him has been a trademark since the 1990s. Ghayal and Border were his peak points in the 90s, but we weren't ready for a cyclone called Tara Singh in the early 2000s. And how lucky we were to get it in the last years of the single-screen era. What he has done to Tara Singh cannot be described in words. He presented every violent Indian who would have done exactly what he did—to go to any extent to save his wife and his child, and above all, the pride of Hindustan! Ameesha Patel may not have a long filmography to remember, but her early days, or better say, her best days, had her in Kaho Na Pyaar Hai and Gadar. People have forgotten or will forget all her works, but they can never forget Sakina. First, she is a glamorous college girl—somewhat similar to a royal British girl—and then she goes through an amazing transformation. From being a faithful wife and dutiful mother to fighting her own father, Sakina presents a perfect Bhartiya Naari that is also loved by migrated Pakistani women. Utkarsh Sharma's cute voice in "Hindustan Zindabaad" reflected every child in India who was proud of his father. A BFF like Vivek Shauq can never be disliked or hated, and his getup was one of the most powerful features of his character. There was a time in Bollywood when you had to get Amrish Puri for a strong supporting role, but in the villain's roles, he had no substitute. Ashraf Ali is easily one of the most memorable roles played by this legendary actor, so you know how great it is. The supporting cast adds a perfect balance to this action drama.

We often talk about how important the music is for a film, especially when it has to connect with the masses. Take any film from the top 10 biggest hits of all time, and you'll notice one thing: they all had hit music that didn't fade away from people's minds after a month or year. "Main Nikla Gaddi Leke" was a rage, and it was hell deserving. In my school gathering, there were at least five classes fighting to get this song for their dance performance. "Udha Kale Kawan" is probably the best example of one song having two different versions and both emerging as super hits. The other songs are equally great as per the situations, but as we know, one or two big things always overshadow the next best thing. Uttam Singh has many hit albums, but Gadar is one such album that took him to every household in India. A special mention goes to Anand Bakshi's cheerful and handsomely rhymed lyrics, which we still have on our tongue. The cinematography, sound design, and production value are well-suited for the time, and they feel even better in today's 4K version. Who on earth would have thought that Anil Sharma would give us a film that starts as a sweet rom-com and then turns into an extravagantly violent and out-and-out mass action drama?

Today, we have so many superheroes and macho characters, but two decades ago, there was Tara Singh. He fought his own people (an entire village) to give respect to a lady, and then he literally fought the entire nation to bring his woman back. Tara Singh is a cinematic image of a true Indian macho man without showing his six-pack or eight-pack abs. Gadar is the last monument we have in a true red mass blockbuster pattern, and we might never have another one, just like we can never have another Mother India, another Mughal-e-Azam, another Sholay, or another Hum Aapke Hai Kaun. Sorry if I missed something. There is so much to write, so much to remember, and so much to carry forward to the next generation. Short and simple: enjoy mass cinema in its truest form. Gadar, jaisa naam, waisa kaam!