MUMBAI: Sunny Deol had superstar luck with Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. The film, which starred him as a young Sikh man Tara Singh, who falls in love with a Muslim girl Saqeena after he marries her amidst the India – Pakistan riot, was a blockbuster when it was released. The Anil Sharma film had its heart in the right place; hence, it worked like magic at the Box Office.

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Despite clashing with Aamir Khan’s Lagaan, Gadar was a successful film beyond imagination. It was after the success of the film that rumours spread like fire about the actor’s fee per film. Reports said that Sunny hiked his fee and was charging 5 crore per film.

In an interview with Filmfare in 2001, Sunny Deol was asked about his fee and if he has actually started charging 5 crores per film. The actor was surprised by the number and said, “Who on earth said it’s Rs 5 crores? I thought I was asking for 15 crores! Ha, ha, ha. Jokes aside, now I wish producers would shell out Rs 5 crores. The rumour’s absurd. Being a producer myself, I know how the economics work. I ask for what I deserve. Hits and flops have never been the criteria for my price.”

Sunny Deol, in the same interview, also suggested that people like watching him do Dhishum Dhishum stuff. He vouched for his macho image and accepted that Gadar worked because it had a lot of action and high drama despite being a love story. A report in Zee News states that he charged 4.5 crores for Gadar and it made him the highest paid actor of those times.

However, we cannot verify this figure since they were based on mere speculations and actors never revealed their price tag. Talking about the success of the film, the Darr actor confessed that he has been relevant for 18 years but did not have such a massive blockbuster to his credit.

The actor, in the same interview, said, “Gadar isn’t the first hit of my career. I’ve had hits earlier though they weren’t such huge blockbusters. Hits and flops have been a part of my career graph. Of course, there’s something very special about such a big hit after being in the business for 18 years. That proves I’m still growing in this field. Can any of my colleagues boast of such an achievement?” 

He even acknowledged Aamir Khan’s Lagaan working well since both the films clashed and said, “For years, trade pundits have been predicting that it’s the age of the bubble gum heroes. If that’s true, then how come Aamir Khan and I’ve given such big hits at this stage of our careers?”

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For the unversed, Gadar was a blockbuster at the box office and the team is all set for the sequel of the film starring Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel and Utkarsh Sharma. Gadar 2 releases on August 11 and will be clashing with Akshay Kumar‘s Oh My God 2.

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Credits - koimoi