I would smack Ameesha Patel on her back, so she acted demurely: Director Anil Sharma on how he prepared her for Gadar

He said that he auditioned Ameesha over two days, and then shortlisted her along with around 10 other newcomers. Another actress made the cut, but while she was a better performer, she didn’t look the part. Anil was concerned if Ameesha would be able to pull it off, but decided to proceed with her anyway. He said, “She was as fair as the moon, which is what I wanted; she came from a rich family, which was also important. Yes, she had issues with her diction, but we could dub over her.”

He continued, “She’d studied in Boston, she grew up in South Mumbai, she used to travel in a Mercedes and wear solitaires; how would she understand a woman from 1947? She wasn’t a bad actor, she was just raw, and she needed work. I didn’t know if she would be willing to put in the hours, but she’s the most hard-working, beautiful student. She would rehearse every day for six months, five hours a day, going over every dialogue and scene hundreds of times. She used to walk with her head held high and I would smack her on the back, because women of that era had a slouched posture. Their mothers would also smack them if they didn’t walk in a demure manner.”

The first Gadar, starring Sunny Deol in the lead role, became a huge box office hit. The sequel, released just some months ago, did even better business, and is currently the third-biggest Hindi movie of all time in India behind Jawan and Pathaan.