Anyone who is asked to take on a sequel to an iconic movie with a legacy attached to it would feel anxious at first. But producer Bhushan Kumar of T-Series was positive about director Anurag Singh ("Kesari") when he offered this project, which had been in development for a long time under the original director JP Dutta.
"We were supposed to do another project together, but one day we got talking, and he told me about Border 2," said Anurag in a chat with ANI. "But it's a big project, iconic... I'd heard of talks of it being planned, but didn't expect them to ask me."
Anurag added that he was a bit sceptical and tentative, but since Border is a property with a "set pattern" from which one cannot deviate, he wasn't sure if he could work within certain parameters of that world. However, Bhushan Kumar managed to convince him. "He told me that he'd offer his full support and give me whatever I need, be it budget or the on-ground execution, and he stayed true to it."
Border 2 had been in discussion for quite some time, but Bhushan Kumar shared that it was the success of Gadar 2 that provided them with the necessary impetus. "When Gadar 2 came out and became a hit, we realised if it can work, this one can also work," he says. However, the plan to have JP Dutta direct it seemed unlikely due to his health issues. "This is a project that requires a lot of effort and running around. That's when we started considering other directors, and Anurag is someone I've wanted to work with since Kesari. When I offered it to him, he took some time to think. It took some convincing after I told him he could have full creative freedom."
In its fairly positive appreciation of the movie, which praised the performances of Varun Dhawan and others, THE WEEK wrote: "In today's political climate, where nationalism tends to sell easily, it would have been easy for the makers of Border 2 to take that route, especially with the legacy of Border as solid ammunition. Singh, who has also co-written the screenplay with Sumit Arora, ensures the patriotism flavour remains at the forefront without compromising on his conviction in the narration. Deol may be the much senior actor, but all four protagonists get reasonably strong intros and sub-plots. In fact, Dhawan gets the meatiest of the introduction sequences and arguably the strongest character arc of the four. In the days leading upto the film's release, Dhawan was the target of social media trolls after the Border 2 promos were aired."
