Anil Sharma refuses to reveal why Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Kajol rejected Gadar: I had to choose between the heroine or Amrish Puri | Hindi Movie News

The Gadar franchise has gained immense popularity for its patriotic themes, intense action sequences, and emotional storytelling. Both Gadar and Gadar 2 have become one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films of all time. While Sunny Deol played the role of Tara Singh, Ameesha Patel portrayed Sakeena. But before casting Ameesha, director Anil Sharma had thought of several actresses for the female lead including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Kajol.
Anil told Bollywood Thikana that he had a lot of actresses on his mind. He had narrated the script to them and 2-3 of them had also liked it while a few of them turned it down as well. However, the director refused to reveal the reason why these actresses rejected Gadar.
He then recalled that Zee Studios had spoken to an actress who had agreed to do the role of Sakeena but she was charging a lot of money. Since the film’s budget was tight, the producers had told him to choose between the heroine or Amrish Puri.
Eventually, Anil chose Amrish and told the producers that he will cast a new heroine. He stated that Amrish was absolutely necessary otherwise there would have been no film without him. “He had to be this powerful Ashraf Ali. Then we decided to cast a new face,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gadar 2 has surpassed the box office record of Shah Rukh Khan starrer Pathaan to become the second highest grossing film in India. So far, the movie has collected Rs 542.75 crore while Pathaan’s lifetime domestic collection stands at Rs 524.53 crore.
On the other hand, Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan has become the highest grossing film in India with a collection of Rs 576.23 crore. The Atlee directorial has also crossed Rs 1000 crore mark worldwide. SRK has become the only Bollywood superstar to score two Rs 1000 crore films in the same year.