Filmmaker Anil Sharma says he knew Gadar: Ek Prem Katha would become a landmark the moment he first heard the script, and 25 years later, he feels it is “still alive in people’s hearts”.

“The day Shaktimaan Talwar narrated the story, I knew it had the potential to become India’s biggest hit film… I tried to make it at the level of Mother India (1957), Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and Sholay (1975),” he says, adding that the film recorded nearly 10 crore footfalls, a feat unmatched even today. “Even Gadar 2 had half of this footfall,” he adds.

Recalling its 2001 release alongside Aamir Khan’s Lagaan, he says, “There was no competition like today… people would watch one film and then another back-to-back. Woh marketing nahi, woh dil ka daur tha.”

On Gadar 3, he teases, “Gadar ki story ek bomb thi, sab kahte rahe par Gadar 2 tab bani jab ek atom bomb story mili. Now, Gadar 3 will only happen if we have a nuclear bomb story. We are working on the script and God-willing if all goes on track we will start it next year!”