Gadar 2 is a direct sequel to Gadar (2001). The film cleverly utilises montages from the first film to establish a connection and take you on a trip down memory lane. India’s Partition was the backdrop of the first film and here the backdrop is the 1971 Indo-Pak war, which led to the formation of Bangladesh. The film is high on patriotism and portrays Tara Singh (Sunny Deol) as a one-man army who once again decimates the entire Pakistani army all by himself. Sunny Deol, in one of his recent interviews, compared Tara Singh to Hulk and Superman and watching the film, you do get the feeling that you’re indeed watching a superhero film.
Many years have passed since Tara Singh rescued his wife Sakina (Amisha Patel) from Pakistan. He’s living peacefully with her and their son Charanjeet “Jeete” Singh (Utkarsh Sharma), who has become a strapping young man now. There is war in the air and Lieutenant Colonel Devendra Rawat (Gaurav Chopra) asks Tara Singh for his help. Our jawans at the border urgently need supplies and Tara, along with a fleet of trucks, rush to the designated area, only to get ambushed by the enemy. Tara Singh is said to be captured by Major General Hamid Iqbal (Manish Wadhwa), who is out for Tara’s blood as Tara had killed members of his battalion when he had first escaped from Pakistan. Jeete takes it upon himself to rescue his father but in a twist of fate, himself gets caught. Now it’s up to Tara to come up with another rescue mission and get his son back to India.
While the earlier film was all about the romance between Tara and Sakina, this film showcases the bond between father and son. Jeete is shown to be a chip of the old block and takes his father’s mantle forward. Director Anil Sharma has sort of relaunched his son Utkarsh with this film. He’s shown to be a complete package here, romancing a pretty girl Muskaan (Simrat Kaur) and sharing some lighthearted moments with his father and mother in the first half, before turning into an action figure and going on rampage against the Pakistanis, just like his father. Utkarsh didn’t let this chance go to waste and made the most of the proceedings.
There’s no denying that Sunny Deol packs a humongous screen presence, even at the age of 66. He can still breathe fire and make the audience go wild with joy every time he bashes up the enemy. Director Sharma has played to his strengths and made sure he has filled his portions with crowd-pleasing scenes. Sunny looks like someone who can defeat a whole army singlehandedly and that’s the USP of the film. He’s really the reason the audience has taken to the film in such a big way. Ameesha Patel doesn’t have much to do and is competent in her emotional scenes.
Given the current situation, it was expected that Gadar 2, carrying a strong patriotic flavour, would be well-liked by the audience. It’s to director Anil Sharma’s credit that he has kept the jingoism to the minimum, concentrating on the family bond instead to take the story forward. The film floats on its huge nostalgia value and the aura of its star, Sunny Deol, who has once again proved the adage that a lion never gets old.