Published By: Shrishti Negi
Last Updated: August 16, 2023, 09:15 IST
Gadar 2 and Pathaan hit the theatres on August 11 and January 25, respectively.
Before taking on the role of Pakistani Major General Hamid Iqbal, Manish Wadhwa played of a villain in Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan as General Qadir.
The original Gadar film offered a kind love story that pushed the right buttons for making it a success at the box office. Hence, ever since the inception of its sequel, the movie has garnered massive headlines. Now, it is the lead antagonist of Gadar 2, Manish Wadhwa, who recently spoke candidly of his experience of working on the project. For those unaware, the seasoned star has back-to-back been a part of two highly-anticipated movies. Before taking on the role of Pakistani Major General Hamid Iqbal, he also essayed the role of a villain in Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan as General Qadir. In a recent interaction with India Today, Manish Wadhwa detailed how it felt to share the screen space with two prolific superstars.
The actor emphasised that Sunny Deol and Shah Rukh Khan are quite “focused” and know how to do their job well. According to Manish, just how a single player making a century in a cricket match doesn’t guarantee victory, similarly, he highlighted how a single actor cannot make a movie hit. “Everybody has to play. So, if your product is good, if your complete package is good, definitely it’s going to work. Both Sunny Paaji and SRK make sure that it’s a team effort, which is a very good quality,” he explained.
Drawing similarities between his villainous roles of a Pakistani General in both films, Manish admitted he feels elated to have bagged the special opportunities. The actor believes all that people look for in movies is “entertainment” which he promises of Gadar 2 having in abundance. “It’s about cinema, even today people say entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. So, I think ‘Gadar’ is complete entertainment, and blockbusters are made like that,” he added.
Manish Wadhwa opened up about feeling blessed to bag the parts. He continued, “I am super excited, happy, and blessed, also, God is kind. This year both the films (Pathaan and Gadar 2) that I was part of did really well. So feeling really blessed and happy.”
Directed by Anil Sharma, Sunny Deol, and Ameesha Patel reprise their roles as lovers Tara and Sakeena in the sequel. While the previous film was set against the backdrop of the partition of India, the sequel makes reference to the 1971 “Crush India Movement”. Gadar 2 has surpassed the 50-crore club at the box office after its first weekend.
