Gadar 2
(; subtitled onscreen with The Katha Continues) is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language period action drama film directed and produced by Anil Sharma and written by Shaktimaan Talwar. A sequel to Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), it stars Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel and Utkarsh Sharma, who reprise their roles from the previous film. During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Tara Singh returns to Pakistan in order to rescue his imprisoned son Charanjeet "Jeete" Singh. Gadar 2 was theatrically released on 11 August 2023 and became a commercial success, grossing over  worldwide against a production budget of . It is the third highest-grossing Indian film of 2023 and seventh highest-grossing Hindi film of all-time. Plot
In 1954, Hamid Iqbal is the General of Pakistan Army who wants to exact vengeance on Tara Singh for eliminating his 40 soldiers during Tara's escape from Pakistan with wife Sakeena and son Charanjeet "Jeete". Iqbal gets Sakeena's father Ashraf Ali executed for aiding Tara in his escape to India. In 1971, Tara is now a goods supplier to the Indian Army cantonment and lives with Sakeena and Jeete, who soon leaves for Chandigarh for his college studies. One day, Tara is contacted by Lt. Colonel Devendra Rawat for help in supplying Indian soldiers with weapons as a skirmish is taking place with the Pakistani soldiers at the border, during the Third India–Pakistan War. After reaching there, Tara is spotted by Iqbal, who orders an explosion at the border, leading to many of the soldiers getting captured. Jeete returns from Chandigarh to find Sakeena in shambles. Upon learning about Tara's disappearance at the border, Jeete leaves for Pakistan against everyone's wishes to rescue his father. In Pakistan, Jeete meets Tara's close friend Gul Khan, who helps him secure a job at Kurban Khan's hotel, which supplies food to the prison where the Indian soldiers are being held. Jeete meets and gets close to Kurban's daughter Muskaan, who continues to support him upon learning that Jeete came there to rescue his father. Jeete infiltrates the prison, only to get captured and discover that Tara was never captured. On the other hand, Tara resurfaces in Punjab and reunites with Sakeena, revealing that he fell into a stream and was rescued by a Bakarwal tribe, but went into a coma. Upon learning that Jeete is in Pakistan and his communication has stopped, Tara decides to head to Pakistan and extract Jeete from the prison. Landing in Pakistan, Tara meets Gul Khan and learns about Jeete's capture. Iqbal beats up Jeete and gets him publicly humiliated by falsely accusing him of assaulting Muskaan, who is forced to lie to protect her father. However, Tara arrives and escapes with Jeete after defeating Iqbal and his army. Yahya Khan, who is the President of Pakistan and the Commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, orders Iqbal to capture Tara within 72 hours. Tara and his team contact Sakeena, but are chased by Iqbal's men, eventually getting separated. Following a series of combats and chases, they finally reunite and are on their way to leave Pakistan when Muskaan and Kurban Khan shows up with their family, who are planning to leave for Balochistan. Kurban Khan asks Tara to accept Muskaan as Jeete's bride, to which Jeete and Tara both happily agree. However, Iqbal captures them in an ambush and kills Muskaan's brother Farid. The next day, Tara fights Iqbal and his army singlehandedly, escaping with everybody in a battle tank. They arrive at the Indian border, where Iqbal tries to kill Tara, but is gunned down by Indian soldiers. Colonel Rawat approves Jeete to enlist in the army, while Tara, Jeete and Muskaan reunite with Sakeena. Cast

Archive footage from the first film and CGI was used for Amrish Puri's character as Ashraf Ali, Sakeena's father. Production

Development
Zee Studios, Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel and Utkarsh Sharma officially announced Gadar 2: The Katha Continues on 15 October 2021 (Dusshera) on their social media accounts, revealing the release date 2022 with motion poster. The first poster of the sequel titled Gadar 2 was unveiled on 26 January 2023 (Republic Day) and it shows Tara Singh, played by Sunny, with a hammer. Casting
Sunny Deol reprises his role of Tara Singh, but was initially hesitant about revisiting the role, believing that films like Gadar: Ek Prem Katha can be made only once in history. He states, "We had made Gadar but the audience made it a Blockbuster. Initially, I was a bit apprehensive about whether we would do justice and continue the legacy of the first part." The film's director Anil Sharma revealed how he convinced Deol to return, stating, "When I narrated Gadar 2, Sunny was a little hesitant because he felt Gadar was a blockbuster and didn't want to meddle with it. But I requested him that the entire nation has been requesting a sequel and we should respect their emotions. After many calls, he finally agreed to hear the story. When we sat down for narration and finished it, he had tears in his eyes. That's how the journey of Gadar 2 started." Ameesha Patel and Utkarsh Sharma also reprise their roles of Sakeena and Charanjeet "Jeete" Singh from the first film. Simrat Kaur was also cast for the film. Manish Wadhwa was offered the role of a Pakistani army general in the film. Rohit Choudhary, was also cast in the role of a Pakistani army general in the film. Luv Sinha and Gaurav Chopra have also been cast in important role. The shoot of the film was wrapped up by May 2023. Writer Shaktimaan revealed the character of Gul Khan played by Mushtaq Khan was based on a real person Qasi Sahab who gave his father shelter in his home during the communal riots. Ashraf Ali, Sakeena's father, played by Amrish Puri in the first film; also appears in this film. Puri died in 2005 and his likeness was used to bring back the character through archive footage from Gadar: Ek Prem Katha and computer-generated imagery. Soundtrack

The music of the film is composed by Mithoon and Monty Sharma while lyrics are written by Sayeed Quadri and Sunil Sirvaiya. The first single titled "Udd Jaa Kaale Kaava" was released on 29 June 2023. The second single titled "Khairiyat" was released on 18 July 2023. The third single titled "Main Nikla Gaddi Leke" was released on 3 August 2023. A female version of "Udd Jaa Kaale Kaava" sung by Palak Muchhal was released on 18 August 2023. Another version of "Dil Jhoom" sung by Vishal Mishra was released on 18 September 2023. An extended album with total of 17 songs was released on 6 October 2023. Release
The teaser of the film was released on 12 June 2023, coinciding with 22nd anniversary of Gadar Ek Prem Katha. The trailer of the film was released on 26 July 2023, coinciding with Kargil Vijay Diwas. The film was leaked on YouTube after two days of the theatrical release from 11 August 2023, minorly effecting the collections and clash with OMG 2. The immensely positive box-office response prompted several cinemas to play post-midnight and early morning shows of the film. Home media
The film was premiered on ZEE5 from 6 October 2023. Reception

Box office 
On its opening day, Gadar 2 collected a total India net of . In its first weekend, it collected over , making it sixth top opening weekend for Hindi films. As of 14 September 2023, the film has grossed  in India, with a further  in overseas, for a worldwide total of . Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Gadar 2 has an approval rating of 17% from 12 reviews, with an average score of 4.2/10. Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama gave 4.5/5 stars and wrote “Gadar 2 is old-school desi entertainment at its best. Sunny Deol returns to the big screen with a vengeance… He is as ferocious as ever. The patriotic flavour coupled with tremendous recall value will make it a huge money-spinner. Gadar 2 lives up to massive expectations… Has it all: drama, emotions, action, two beautiful songs [from the first part] and the hand pump sequence, of course. Anil Sharma makes sure he packs every ingredient on the shelf to create a big-screen entertainer.”  Anuj Kumar from The Hindu wrote "It is not as provocative as the original as driver Anil Sharma seeks to take a middle path. Perhaps, it feels like that because the socio-political atmosphere outside the theatre has become much more dramatic and shrill than what it was when the original released in 2001. Still, it is good that Sharma has toned down the jingoistic tone." Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times wrote "Gadar 2 does falter in terms of story and its pace, though it brings back the mass entertainment and that can surely make it a paisa vasool watch." Anindita Mukherjee from India Today gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Gadar 2 supersedes expectations, as it successfully tugs at your heartstrings. And there's Sunny Paaji to do all the heavy-lifting (pun intended). Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express, who gave 1.5/5 stars and wrote "What we can confirm is that Sunny paaji can still snarl effectively, and that dhai-kilo-ka-haath has residual potency. We can also confirm the reappearance of a hand-pump. Umesh Punwani of Koimoi gave 1/5 stars and reviewed as: this is a blatant misuse of fans’ emotions taking it for granted to deliver such a horrendous product hoping it'll work only based on nostalgic factors. Sequel 
A third film is being planned in the franchise, where Deol subsequently confirmed that Gadar 3 would be made but is not sure when the production would begin. Notes

References

External links 
 
Gadar 2 on ZEE5 
 Gadar 2 at Bollywood Hungama

2023 films
2020s Hindi-language films
2020s action drama films
Indian action drama films
Military of Pakistan in films
Indian historical action films
India–Pakistan relations in popular culture
Indian interfaith romance films
Indian sequel films
Films set in the partition of India
Films set in Punjab, India
Films set in Punjab, Pakistan
Films shot in Lucknow
Films shot in Punjab, India
Films shot in Himachal Pradesh
Films directed by Anil Sharma
2020s historical action films