June 15, 2001 goes down as a special date in the annals of Hindi cinema’s history. It is a rare date on which two major films clashed and both went onto achieve major successes – Ashutosh Gowariker’s Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India and Anil Sharma’s Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. While the former went onto make India proud by becoming one of the top five films in the Best Foreign Language Category at the Oscars, the latter was an out-and-out massy blockbuster that provided a boost to the career of its lead actor Sunny Deol.

Why Gadar earned more than DOUBLE of Lagaan at the domestic box office? Trade experts discuss

While talking about this clash, we have always heard that both the films went onto enjoy enormous box office success. Although this is very much true, if one looks closely, one would be surprised to know that as far as lifetime India nett collections are concerned, Gadar went much ahead of Lagaan. In fact, the Sunny starrer went onto earn more than double of the Aamir starrer!

As per Bollywood Hungama, the lifetime collections of Lagaan and Gadar stand at Rs. 34.31 crores and Rs. 76.88 crores respectively. Even if one looks at the worldwide numbers, Gowariker and Sharma’s movies earned Rs. 58.03 crores and Rs. 111.73 crores respectively. We asked trade experts on the reason why Gadar went so ahead of Lagaan at the box office, although both films are equally celebrated even after 25 years.

Veteran trade analyst Taran Adarsh said, “Both the films did well, but Lagaan was better in bigger centres. But Gadar was like a wave. I can’t describe in words the kind of response that film got. During the climax of Lagaan, the theatres had been converted into stadiums. And for Gadar, oh my God; masses went into an overdrive. Even in bigger cities, it was fantastic. But beyond metros, it was historic.”

Sharing his take on the box office performance of Gadar back then, veteran trade analyst and the editor of Complete Cinema trade magazine Atul Mohan said, “After Border, for the first time there was Pakistan-bashing in a movie and that too at this level. And to see a lone Indian uprooting a hand-pump and creating havoc among Pakistanis in their own country was more appealing to the audience. It filled them with josh. Lagaan also had some issue with its length. It had more class appeal. So, Lagaan’s main business came from metros and A class centres. But Gadar did enormously well in B and C classes as well as other centres. It also had a lot of appeal in the North,” he said.

Adarsh recalled that the response for Gadar was similar to the Raj Kapoor directorial Bobby (1973) starring Rishi Kapoor (first lead role) and Dimple Kapadia (debut). “I was eight years old when Bobby released,” he said. “But I remember my father (BK Adarsh) had written in Trade Guide that people from faraway towns used to come in trucks to bigger cities. They used to sleep overnight and book the tickets in the morning. Ditto for Gadar. People used to come from faraway towns to theatres where Gadar was being screened in packed cars, tempos and trucks. I remember the response to Sunny Deol’s iconic dialogue, ‘Hindustan zindabad tha, zindabad hai, aur zindabad rahega’ and that hand-pump scene. I had gone to the theatre to see the response of both the films. I remember distinctly. I can’t describe it in words. We couldn’t hear the dialogues. People were screaming and whistling. That was the kind of response that was coming in.”

He added, “Both the films brought back the audience in a very big way. Of course, films were working in those days; I am not denying it. But from that particular week onwards, it was phenomenal. Before the release, everyone felt that Lagaan would really be a major money-spinner while Gadar would be just okay. And both the films were lengthy. But the way Gadar took over in terms of business was phenomenal.”

Adarsh also recalled the response to Gadar 2, the sequel of Gadar that released in 2023. He saw the film in Australia and he was stunned to see the way the audience reacted to one scene. “Imagine, even in Australia people were whistling and clapping to see that hand-pump. So, people haven’t forgotten Gadar for various reasons,” he said.

Atul Mohan pointed out that the music also played a role in Gadar’s success. “The songs of both the films were popular but the songs of Gadar were massier. Songs like ‘Main Nikla Gaddi Leke’ and ‘Udja Kaale Kawan’ became very popular,” he said. Adarsh also agreed that the entire playlist of Gadar was impressive.

However, Adarsh believed it back then and believes the same now that one shouldn’t look at Lagaan and Gadar’s same-day release as clash and should, instead, celebrate them. “Lagaan made us proud at the Oscars. Both the films were like big feathers in our caps. Bollywood was really shining in that particular week and after that. Everyone looks at it as a clash saying ‘clash ho gaya’. But I look at it from a very different point of view. I remember telling people during that time that why don’t we look at it like two films arrived and both brought in a sea of audience? The way that audience came to watch both the films for weeks and weeks is something that cannot be explained in mere words,” he concluded.

Also Read: OPINION: Everyone wants another Lagaan, but nobody wants to take Lagaan-sized risks