Anil Sharma Completes First Schedule Of ‘Arjun Naga,’ Confirms ‘Gadar 3’ Is In Development (EXCLUSIVE)

More than four decades into his filmmaking career, Anil Sharma remains committed to the kind of large-scale, audience-driven cinema that has defined his journey. From “Hukumat” and “Tehelka” to “Gadar: Ek Prem Katha” and the record-breaking success of “Gadar 2,” Sharma has built a reputation for creating films rooted in emotion, spectacle, and the pulse of the masses.

Now, the filmmaker is turning his attention to his next ambitious project, “Arjun Naga,” which he describes as one of the most powerful scripts he has encountered in his career. The movie stars his son, Utkarsh Sharma, in the lead and Arjun Rampal reportedly as the antagonist. 

Speaking exclusively to Variety India, Sharma revealed that he has already completed one schedule of the film and that the cast will be revealed in due course.

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“Right now, I am working on a very big project. I have already finished my 10 to 20-day schedule. I am yet to announce the cast. The movie is called ‘Arjun Naga.’ It is a period film set on a massive scale. I would like to say that very few times in life one gets a script so solid. Just like ‘Hukumat,’ ‘Tehelka,’ ‘Gadar,’ ‘Arjun Naga’ is exactly like that and I am now working on it. I will talk about this in detail soon,” Sharma said.

While “Arjun Naga” marks Sharma’s immediate focus, the filmmaker also offered an update on one of Hindi cinema’s most successful franchises. Following the unprecedented theatrical performance of “Gadar 2,” which emerged as one of the biggest Indian blockbusters of 2023, anticipation remains high around the third installment.

Sharma confirmed that the team is currently developing the story for “Gadar 3,” with production expected to begin once the screenplay reaches a stage of complete satisfaction. “As for ‘Gadar 3,’ we are right now working on the script and once we are satisfied and the story is blocked is when we begin production, hopefully by the end of this year,” he said.

For Anil Sharma, the longevity of “Gadar” is tied to its emotional connection with audiences. Released in 2001, “Gadar: Ek Prem Katha,” starring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel, became a cultural phenomenon and remains one of Hindi cinema’s most remembered mass entertainers.

“What makes pop culture? Things we like and enjoy become part of pop culture. The names have been changing over the years, people have aged, but the soul has been the same. Who is 40 years old now was 18 at some point. When ‘Gadar’ came, it managed to make space in the hearts of its audience. It has managed to stay there. The fact that it was relevant regardless of time is why it managed to stay and is still sampled to date,” Sharma explained.

The filmmaker believes this connection comes from approaching cinema not from a distance, but as an audience member himself. “I know what the audience wants because I am a part of the audience. I have always prioritized the audience. I never write my films like a filmmaker. I am a man sitting in a single-screen theatre, not even a multiplex. If the story excites that man sitting in the single screen, that is what makes it into my film. The filmmaker has to be the first audience,” he said.

Anil Sharma further stressed that cinema ultimately belongs to the people who buy tickets and keep the theatrical ecosystem alive. “You make films for them to come to the cinema halls to watch your work. If you make a film thinking it is for you, why spend crores? Instead, upload it on YouTube and keep watching it,” he adds.

With “Arjun Naga” moving ahead as a large-scale period film and “Gadar 3” taking shape in the writing stage, Sharma is once again returning to the storytelling philosophy that has defined his career, creating cinema with the audience at its center.