Mumbai, Aug 15 : It has been a year since 'Gadar 2,' starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel, was released, and its director, Anil Sharma, said that the blockbuster is not just a movie but also an emotion of the country.

Talking about the life of the 'Gadar' franchise, Sharma told IANS: ''Gadar is not (just) a film; it is an emotion of India. That is the life of the film.'

'It is the emotion of the country, and India is joined with it. This is the brand of Gadar. I can say it is patriotism or family. (But) it is the emotion of India.'

The period drama film 'Gadar 2' is a sequel to 'Gadar: Ek Prem Katha," which was released in 2001. Sunny, Ameesha, and actor Utkarsh Sharma reprised their roles from the previous film, where they played the roles of Tara Singh, Sakina, and Jeete, respectively.

'Gadar 2' is set during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and Sunny's character returns to Pakistan to save his imprisoned son Charanjeet. The film was the fifth highest-grossing Indian film of 2023 and was named the eighth highest-grossing Hindi film of all time.

Reminiscing about last year's celebrations, Anil shared: 'It has been one year since it was released. I remember that it was the morning of August 15, and the film had made more than Rs 55 crore on this day.'

An emotional Sharma is thankful to God and audiences for giving him two 'Gadar' blockbusters.

'I am very thankful to God and the audience for this. People sometimes don't get one Gadar, and I got two of them. It is a big achievement, and I can only be thankful. I may not deserve so much, but God gave me so much love.'

The film was tagged as a 'Hindistan ka asli blockbuster' as it made over Rs. 691.08 crore gross.

'All the films that are being made are blockbusters... For me, all films that are good are blockbusters. I would like to congratulate all those whose films have done really well,' he said.

Does the timing of a film play an important role in making it a success?

'Yes, it is the timing also, but 'Gadar: Ek Prem Katha' was released in June, and this was on August 15. Timing is important, but I also I feel the film is important.'

He said that his 1987 film "Hukumat,' starring Dharmendra and Rati Agnihotri, hit the big screen during the exam times and yet was tagged as the highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year.

'My film 'Hukumat' came out in March, during the exam, as the biggest blockbuster it became. Timing is important but the most important thing is the film. What's in the film and how much is it entertaining you'?

The filmmaker has now started working on the third installment of the 'Gadar' franchise.

/IANS