Why did Sanjay Leela Bhansali ask Ameesha Patel to retire after watching Gadar in 2001?

Actress Ameesha Patel is currently riding high on the blockbuster success of her latest film Gadar 2. She reprised the role of her beloved character Sakeena after 22 years and has managed to charm the audiences again. Her chemistry with Sunny Deol has been one of the major high points of the film. Their iconic songs which have been recreated from the original have managed to raise the nostalgia factor. This success for the actress is very similar to what she experienced when the first part of Gadar came out in 2001, which was only her second Hindi film. Recently, Ameesha revealed an interesting incident that occurred back then after the release of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. She disclosed that acclaimed director Sanjay Leela Bhansali had asked her to retire after watching the film.In a conversation with Bollywood Hungama, the gorgeous actress discussed how her life changed after the release of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai and Gadar. She narrated an incident when Sanjay Leela Bhansali, director of popular films like Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, had asked her to retire after he watched the original Gadar in 2001. Ameesha shared, “After watching Gadar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali wrote a really beautiful complimentary letter to me, and when I had a meeting with him, he said ‘Ameesha, you should retire now.’ I was like ‘why?’ I didn’t understand.”Ameesha continued by revealing what the director told her. “He said, ‘Because you have already achieved in two films which most people don’t achieve in their entire career. Once in a lifetime a Mughal-e-Azam, Mother India, Pakeezah, Sholay get made, you had it in your second film, so what next?’ I didn’t understand it at that time because I was a kid, I was so new to the film world (to know) what he meant by setting the bar high,” she said.