Anil Sharma (Director) Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Some Lesser Known Facts About Anil Sharma

• Anil Sharma is an Indian director and producer who is known for directing the famous Bollywood films Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001) and Apne (2007).

• Anil’s grandfather, whom he affectionately called Baba, was a renowned fortune-teller. During that era, several film stars, such as Geeta Dutt, KN Singh, and Tuntun were his followers. They would seek his advice and offer their assistance (seva).

• As a child, he would often see large crowds gathering outside his house, and he used to wonder who these people were. Seeing these crowds whenever those people visited, he made up his mind to pursue a career in film.

• When he was five years old, he accompanied his grandfather to a wedding in Meerut. They stayed in Dharamshala and close to it was a cinema hall. Sometime before the wedding, he asked his grandfather to take him there. They watched the film “Ganga Ki Lehrein” for just 10 minutes.

• When he grew up and went to Mumbai and presented his debut script as a director to a producer, he found out that he was also the producer of “Ganga Ki Lehrein.” He shared the Meerut story with him and inquired about the actor playing the hero. To my astonishment, he revealed it was Dharmendra. So, Dharmendra happened to be the first hero he ever saw in his life.
  

  An old picture of Anil Sharma with Dharmendra

• By the time he was 14, he had memorized all the stories from the Gita. His baba would frequently ask him to tell these stories to knowledgeable pandits, who would be moved to tears by his narration. He would recount even intricate tales without any hesitation. It was during these instances that he recognized that he possessed a talent for storytelling.

• His father relocated to Mumbai but he remained in Mathura with Baba initially, but after he passed away and Anil completed his Class XII, he moved to Mumbai at the age of 17 along with his father.

• While Anil was pursuing his graduation, he used to do theatre, poetry, and radio writing.

• When he was 18 years old, he received the opportunity to work in the Hindi film industry as an assistant director. He assisted the Indian director, Baldev Raj Chopra on movies like Pati Patni Aur Woh (1978), The Burning Train (1980), and Insaf Ka Tarazu (1980).
  

  Poster of the film ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’ (1978)

• In 1980, when he was 21, he started his directing career with the movie Shradhanjali, featuring famous veteran actress Raakhee. His debut film gained significant attention and praise, becoming a big hit at the box office.

• In 1983, he directed the film Bandhan Kuchchey Dhaagon Ka, which explored the dynamics of married life. The movie received positive reviews from critics.

• Later, he directed other Hindi films including Hukumat (1987), Elaan-E-Jung (1989), Farishtay (1991), Tahalka (1992), and Maharaja (1998).
  

  Poster of the film ‘Farishtay’ (1991)

• In 1992, after the success of the film Tahalka, he decided to take a break from filmmaking for a while. He focused on creating a studio city in India similar to Universal Studios in LA, but unfortunately, the project didn’t succeed. Subsequently, he made a comeback to filmmaking with Maharaja in 1998.

• In 2001, Sharma directed the blockbuster film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, featuring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel. The movie achieved immense commercial success and garnered positive reviews from critics. It emerged as one of the greatest blockbusters in Hindi cinema history and maintains its status as the most successful film of the first decade of the 21st century.
  

  Anil Sharma on the set of the film ‘Gadar Ek Prem Katha’

• In 2003, he directed his next film The Hero: Love Story of a Spy, featuring Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta. He also provided Priyanka Chopra with her debut opportunity in this film. The storyline revolved around espionage and the conflict between India and Pakistan. The movie was regarded as one of the most costly productions in Bollywood during that period. It ended up being the third highest-grossing film of the year.

• In 2004, he directed the film Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo which marked his first collaboration with Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, and Bobby Deol. The film also introduced Divya Khosla Kumar. The movie is known for its strong patriotic theme.
  

  Anil Sharma with Amitabh Bachchan during the shooting of the film ‘Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo’

• The film Apne (2007), received significant acclaim for its portrayal of family emotions and values. The film received positive reviews and box office success. Notably, it was the first film to feature all three Deols – Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, and Bobby Deol.
  

  Poster of the film ‘Apne’

• In 2010, he directed the film Veer, featuring Salman Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Jackie Shroff, and newcomer Zareen Khan.

• He gave other great films including Singh Saab the Great (2013) and Genius (2018).

• In the film Genius (2018), he launched his son Utkarsh Sharma as the lead actor, even though he had earlier introduced him as a child artist in Gadar (2001). The movie was filmed in his hometown, Mathura. Unfortunately, the film received largely negative reviews for its confusing storyline and the quality of its acting.
  

  Poster of the film ‘Genius’ featuring Anil’s son, Utkarsh

• In 2018, he directed the music video for the song Dil Meri Na Sune, sung by Atif Aslam, Himesh Reshammiya, and Manoj.

• In 2019, he directed four episodes for the web series Julie.

• In 2023, he made the sequel to his film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha featuring the same stars Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel and Utkarsh Sharma. On its opening day, Gadar 2 collected a total of Rs. 40.10 crore (US$5.0 million)- Rs. 53.71 crore (US$6.7 million) worldwide. On 13 August 2023, the film grossed Rs. 175.5 crore (US$22 million) globally. In an interview, Anil talked about the success of the film and said,
  

  We expected Gadar 2 to be a hit. Lekin yeh to gadar se bhi aage gadar ho gaya. Ek Gadar 2001 mein machi tthi.Abb ek Gadar 2023 mein machi hai. I won’t lie, the volume of success has taken us by surprise. On Saturday night I went to the cinema to see my film for the first time as a member of the audience. What I saw left me overwhelmed. So much love, my son Utkarsh got mobbed. I have always been to the movies as an audience. This time the experience was something else.”

• According to Anil, Sunny Deol compromised on his fee while shooting for the film Gadar 2 because the budget of the film was not very high.

• As of 2023, he is also working on the sequel of the 2007 film Apne.

• For the films, Shradhanjali (1981), Bandhan Kuchchey Dhaagon Ka (1983), Hukumat (1987), Elaan-E-Jung (1989), Tahalka (1992), Maa (1992), Faisla Main Karungi (1995), Policewala Gunda (1995), Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo (2004), Singh Saab the Great (2013), and Genius (2018), he worked as a producer.

• He also contributed as a writer for the films Shradhanjali (1981), Bandhan Kuchchey Dhaagon Ka (1983), Hukumat (1987), Elaan-E-Jung (1989), Farishtay (1991), Tahalka (1992), and Genius (2018).
  

  Anil Sharma with the cast of the film ‘Tahalka’

• He also made his appearance in the Hindi films Dushman Devta (1991), The Burning Train (1980), and Ladki Bholi Bhali (1976).

• In 1991, Anil Sharma had plans to produce a film named Break Dancer which was to be directed and acted by Javed Jaffery. However, the project was eventually abandoned.

• In 2023, in an interview, Anil recalled that in 2001, he was planning on making a film with the late actor Dilip Kumar, but changed his mind to making Gadar and had to apologise to Dilip Kumar for turning him down.

• In an interview, Anil talked about his 2001 directional Gadar and said that the film faced a lot of criticism from the industry, being referred to as ‘gutter’ by one of the reviewers. A reviewer from an English-language newspaper even mentioned that reviewing the film was not worth their time.

• In an interview, he said that once Mahatma Gandhi visited his house during his visit to Mathura.