Ameesha Patel rose to fame with the massive success of Gadar. Here’s the surprising advice Sanjay Leela Bhansali gave her.
Ameesha Patel has starred in many big Bollywood films, but her unprecedented fame came with Gadar, the 2001 romantic period action drama starring Sunny Deol, which is India’s second most-watched film since the 1990s. But did you know that after the success of the film, Sanjay Leela Bhansali asked her to retire? Scroll down for a fascinating recollection.
Directed by Anil Sharma, Gadar is set during the partition of India in 1947 and was a box office smash, breaking many records including an Indian cinema attendance of over 50 million. $1.33 billion It was released worldwide. A sequel was released in 2023 to critical acclaim and became the eighth highest-grossing Hindi film of all time.
Gadar 2 sees Ameesha Patel reprising the role of Sakina, which wouldn’t have been possible if she had followed Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s advice. But what was the reason behind such a suggestion in the first place?
Ameesha Patel revealed to Bollywood Hungama, “Sanjay Leela Bhansali wrote me a beautiful letter of praise after watching Gadar and when I met him he said, ‘Ameesha, you should retire now’ and I asked, ‘Why?’ and he said, ‘Because you have already achieved in two films what most people don’t achieve in their entire careers. Once in a lifetime, a Mughal revival, Mother India, Pakeezah and Sholay are made. You have achieved that in your second film. Now, what’s next?’ I couldn’t understand it as I was a kid then and new to the film industry.”
Meanwhile, Ameesha had a huge success with Gadar – Ek Prem Katha (2001) and has since gone on to star in many other blockbuster films. Her filmography also includes Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) and Race 2 (2013).
In 2019, Ameesha Patel also appeared as a house owner in Salman Khan’s hosted show Bigg Boss 13. Her entry received mixed reactions from viewers.
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