Gadar director Anil Sharma reveals Govinda was scared after the film was narrated to him, never signed the film

Sunny Deol starrer cross border romantic drama Gadar Ek Prem Katha has completed 20 years since its release. The project which was a big box office success despite its clash with Aamir Khan’s Lagaan attained somewhat of an iconic status and filmmaker Anil Sharma reveals all about the casting choices of the drama that won millions of hearts.

Talking to Bollywood Hungama, Anil addressed the rumours of casting Govinda and Kajol for the Gadar initially. The filmmaker revealed that he was working with Govinda on another project when he had spoken to him about Gadar and said that the actor was scared of taking up the project.

He told the portal, "Govinda was never signed for Gadar – Ek Prem Katha. I was directing him in Maharaja (1998). This is when I had narrated Gadar – Ek Prem Katha’s story to Govinda. Toh aisa nahi tha ki maine unko cast kiya tha. Balki woh toh Gadar – Ek Prem Katha ki kahani sunn ke darr gaye the (Not like I cast him in the film. In fact, he got scared after listening to the story of Gadar Ek Prem Katha)."

Describing Govinda’s reaction Anil added, "He was wondering how someone can pull off a film of this kind and scale. This was a time when there was no way of recreating Pakistan; nobody had attempted it for a major part of the film. So Sunny Deol was always the first choice.”

The filmmaker similarly revealed that not just Kajol but many other actresses were approached to play Sakina in the Indian-Pakistan love story. Ameesha Patel was eventually cast opposite Sunny Deol in the project.