The story is loosely based on real life story of Boota Singh.
Boota Singh was a Sikh ex-soldier of the British Army who is known for his tragic love story with Zainab, a Muslim girl he rescued during the communal riots in the time of partition of India in 1947.Gadar: Ek Prem Katha released in 2001, clashing with Lagaan starring Aamir Khan and Gracy Singh.Gadar is the third most-watched Hindi film in India since the 1990s as it recorded more than 50 million footfalls in Indi ( only after Hum Aapke Hain Koun & Baahubali 2)It is a world record that 10 crore tickets of Gadar were sold as compared to any other film in the world.Gadar: Ek Prem Katha collected 140 crores in its initial theatrical run and its adjusted gross is 500 crores as per 2017 ticket sales.The music of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha was composed by Uttam Singh. Lyrics (all songs) were written by Anand Bakshi.Kajol was the original choice for Amisha Patel's role, but she rejected it because of date issues.Govinda was the first choice for Sunny Deol's role. But after Maharaja (1998) flopped, director Anil Sharma changed his mind.The film was released on 350 screens across India, a record at the time.In India, The film collected rupees 1.40 crores on its first day, rupees 4.08 crores on its first weekend and rupees 9.28 crores on it's first week.An 'All-time Blockbuster', Gadar is widely regarded as one of the most successful films ever and regularly mentioned in the same breath as films such as Sholay, DDLJ, HAHK, Mother india, 3 Idiots.Sunny Deol and Aamir Khan had same month releases thrice in their career - 1) Ghayal, Dil (June 1990) 2) Ghatak, Raja Hindustani (November 1996) 3) Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, Lagaan (2001)Ameesha Patel was chosen out of 500 girls who had come for the audition. Her performance was highly praised and earned her the Filmfare Special Award, in addition to a Best Actress nomination.The shy role of Sunny Deol was praised and earned him a Best Actor nomination at the 47th Filmfare Awards.A part of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha was shot at Bishop Cotton School, Shimla and at other several locations in Shimla. A part of it was also shot in Sacred Heart School, Dalhousie.Although the film is set in 1947, it features the music of 'Que sera sera' which was first published in 1956.The movie was also shot in the city of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh where the city was depicted as Lahore, Pakistan.Shaheed-e-Mohabbat Boota Singh is a 1999 Punjabi film, which was also based on the real-life love story of Boota Singh and Zainab, like Gadarr.Utkarsh Sharma, son of director Anil Sharma, played the role of the couple's soon Jeete.Utkarsh made his debut as the lead in the 2018 film, Genius.Here are a few more memorable snapshots from the movie...