Gen-Z watches Gadar Ek Prem Katha: Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel’s patriotic love saga is part-cringe but still entertains

If you are a Gen Z kid, I am sure you all must have heard your parents or even older cousins say ‘Films toh humare zamane mein hoti thi (films of our time were the best)’.So, to experience that craze for movies of their time, I decided to watch one in the theatre. And the re-release of a blockbuster from 22 years ago, gave me that chance. what better than Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel’s Gadar-Ek Prem Katha, I thought to myself.

A love story set amid the Partition, Gadar-Ek Prem Katha shows how violent communal clashes led to thousands dead and millions displaced but somehow, a beautiful love story of Tara Singh (Sunny Deol) and Sakina (Ameesha Patel) blossomed against all odds. Tara, a Sikh truck driver, goes to extreme ends and crosses the border without any documents to bring Sakina back from Pakistan after she is held captive there by her own family. The movie has several dramatic twists and turns and is spiced up with action with minimal VFX.

The music is still so fresh

Before talking about what I liked or not, the one thing which couldn’t be missed are the soulful songs of the movie, which mesmerized me and caught all my attention. From lyrics to the songs’ beats, everything remains so fresh even two decades later. Certainly not cringe at all, unlike many of the songs today. The songs add life to the narrative and act as a cherry on the cake for the movie. From Main Nikla Gaddi Leke to Udd Ja Kale Kawan, the heart-touching songs are the soul of the movie which never lets you get bored.

The simplicity of the love story is beautiful

Being an old-school film lover, the first half was blissful, and even blinking my eyes throughout the one-and-a-half hours felt like a crime. The old school romance, where the hero falls in love with the heroine at first sight and then keeps the first rose as a memory with her photo and the pure love and respect, I mean these are the movies that created such high expectations for love among all of us. Without confessing or expecting anything in return, Tara Singh just loves and respects Sakina and eventually makes her fall in love with her. This selfless love is hard to find in our times and definitely, the kind of beautiful and simple love that the now cinema lacks.

The dialogue does get cringe in parts

However, the movie started to get a little boring in the second half, despite the frequent twists and turns. The second half is full of action and extreme emotions wherein Tara Singh, along with his son Jeeete, embarks on a difficult journey to cross the border to bring Sakina back. Though I felt the dialogue was a little outdated and almost cringe as per today’s time, Sunny Deol scaring his adversaries with just his roar, fighting them with bare hands and no weapons, and dismantling the handpump to use it as a weapon will always be timeless and a great watch. It was a treat to watch the hero being a superhero without flying or doing kung fu while fighting the goons. Not to forget, Amrish Puri’s acting as both a father and a villain was fabulous. The most interesting character was Sakina’s cousin, who added the much-needed fun element in the second half.

Sunny Deol’s natural acting as lover, father, and son was a treat to watch whereas I thought Ameesha Patel did go a little over the board in some places. The fact that she was sobbing the whole movie, made me feel a little sad for her and wished she could have fought back instead of being a damsel in distress, helplessly waiting for Tara to come to her rescue. Many lines in the film, including the iconic ‘Hindustan zindabad hai, zindabad tha aur zindabad rahega’ still manage to elicit cheers and whistles in the theatre.

The movie managed to entertain me even though it was made 22 years earlier. Although, in the generation of binge-watching on Netflix and switching songs even before it finishes, the movie is a little too long to sit and watch in one go but watching Sunny Deol’s extraordinary strength and his natural acting makes it worth it. Owing to the love the movie received, Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel, and Utkarsh Sharma are back after 22 years to entertain their fans with a sequel - Gadar 2: The Katha Continues. The movie is scheduled to be released on August 11.

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