‘Ameesha, you should retire now’- Sanjay Leela Bansali to Ameesha Patel

The Gadar 2 star Ameesha Patel, who is enjoying the success of sequel to the 2001 blockbuster movie ‘Gadar: Ek Prem Katha’, recently revealed in an interview that a filmmaker advised her to retire after her movie ‘Gadar’ itself, and that filmmaker was none other than Sanjay Leela Bansali.

The reason he said so was because he felt that movies like Gadar are included in evergreen blockbusters like Sholay and Mugal-E-Azam, so even if Ameesha took up movies after that, her work would always be compared to how she performed in Gadar. He also felt that what she had already achieved in her first two films, ‘Kaho Na… Pyaar Hai’ and ‘Gadar’ was something most artists fail to achieve in their whole careers.

In an interview, she stated, “Mr. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, after watching Gadar, wrote a really beautiful letter, complimentary letter to me. And when I had a meeting with him, he said, ‘Ameesha, you should retire now.’ I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Because you’ve already achieved in two films what most people don’t achieve in their entire career. Once in a lifetime, a Mughal-e-Azam, a Mother India, a Pakeezah, a Sholay gets made. You had it in your second film. So what’s next?’ I didn’t understand it at that time because I was a kid, so new to the film world.”

Surprisingly, what he predicted came true in Ameesha Patel’s life. Even though she gave other superhit movies like- Humraaz (2002), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) and Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. (2007), her work was always compared to ‘Gadar’.