Anil Sharma is thrilled with the roaring success of his directorial Gadar 2 which hit the theatres over two weeks ago. Talking about the Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel and Utkarsh Sharma-starrer, the filmmaker says, “When Shaktimaan ji (writer Shaktimaan Talwar) narrated the story, I knew that it had the potential to become a blockbuster. I just had to stay focused and be true to the story. After all, a director’s job is to build a bridge from his heart to the audience’s hearts.”

Anil is glad that the makers showed trust in him and accepted his request to nearly double the film’s budget. He elaborates, “When I had a meeting with Zee Studios, they anticipated that the film would make Rs. 100-150 crore at BO, but I told them that this film would earn way beyond that. From the initial Rs. 45 crore budget, they agreed to sanction Rs 60 crore for the shoot. I knew Gadar 2 would bring the audience back to cinema halls.”

Anil said that the industry did not take Gadar: Ek Prem Katha seriously in 2001, and to everyone’s surprise, the film created history. He shares, “This time, there were a few people who reacted positively, lekin kuch logon ko laga tha ki Gadar 2 kuch nahi kar payegi. There were some who said, ‘Yeh toh sab khatam ho chuke hue log hain.’ People thought this film would just come and disappear from the box office. If Gadar 2 hadn’t clashed with any other film at the box office, then I am sure it would have clocked even higher numbers than it already has.”

Sharma is also happy with the way the fraternity has reacted to the film. “Industry folks like Karan Johar, Shah Rukh Khan sir, Salman Khan bhai and many others congratulated and appreciated our work. I am also touched by the audience’s reactions. They have said things like, ‘This is a very saaf-suthri film which can be watched with your entire family’ and ‘this film awakens the patriotism in you’. The reactions from the single screen owners made me emotional, some of them said, ‘Aapne hamari zindagi bachayi hai.’”