Actor Utkarsh Sharma left the audiences mesmerized with his performance in Gadar 2, the much-awaited sequel to Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. While first part of the franchise was a love story of Tara Singh and Sakeena, the second instalment highlighted a father-son relationship (played by Sunny Deol and Utkarsh). As the focus of the story shifted, the pressure also increased on the makers to not disappoint the fans, who came to theatre for the story of Sakeena and Tara. However, Sharma says, there was no pressure as such. “Gadar 1 was a complete story in itself and it ended on a happy note. What else could you have shown after that. The only differentiator was Tara and Sakeena’s son and that’s why the story progressed in that direction,” he explains.
Recalling his first reaction to the script, Utkarsh says, “I was busy with some other project and even my dad (director of the film Anil Sharma) was occupied. But when this script came, it felt right..it felt like this is the story we were looking for. We wanted something so powerful that it would help in growing the brand of Gadar. During the first narration itself, I knew the audience would connect with this story at every level and that indeed happened. It was a father-son story inspired by Arjun-Abhimanyu’s story from Mahabharat.”
Utkarsh’s father Anil Sharma went ahead with the idea of turning it into Gadar 2 and the film broke all records at the box office.
While audiences continued to appreciate the film as well as Utkarsh’s performance, there was a section which pointed out the fact that Utkarsh got the opportunity because of having connections in the industry. In his defence, Utkarsh shares how he did his share of hard work before entering the industry and never took anything for granted. “I had worked in US theatre for one year, I made short films, I learned the craft in India and did my homework before venturing into films. I wanted to have enough knowledge of the field I am entering so that I could offer something fresh to the audiences.” So now, when he works, Utkarsh says he only thinks about his “audiences and their reaction to my work” and not the “name calling and judgements”.
