It’s my duty to value freedom, says Anil Sharma
When film-maker Anil Sharma made Gadar: Ek Prem Katha in 2001, little did he know that the film would make history and go on to become one of the most patriotic films to be made in Bollywood. The film also saw the debut of his son, Utkarsh Sharma as a child ariste who played Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel’s son in the film. Now, the young lad is grown up and will make his debut with Sharma’s next, Genius.
On the occasion of Independence Day, talking about his film and the importance of freedom, Sharma says, “After years and years of struggle, we got independence. A lot of people sacrificed their lives and you cannot imagine what people have done for us to be in a free country. Sometimes I wonder, why did these people fight for this? Then I realise that if these people did so much for us and our next generation, the least we can do is treasure it and honour it. Though we should be proud of the fact that we are a free nation today, we also need to take an oath to ensure that the sacrifices that people made should not be forgotten.” The film-maker goes on to say, “Right now, our country needs to unite and fight against the vices. We aren’t even able to keep our country clean so I think we should all look within and start with small gestures. Patriotism is a feeling and that shouldn’t just come on January 26 and August 15.”
While Genius isn’t as patriotic in nature as Gadar was, Sharma says that he has tried to add a patriotic flavour. “Genius is about a young boy who goes to great lengths to make his country proud. He is the reason the Indian flag flutters in all its glory,” he adds. Genius releases on August 24.