‘We are not scared of anything’: Sunny Deol

Sunny Deol: We are a joint family, so whatever one goes through, we all feel it. Things don’t always work the way we want them to, so it’s best to keep working and never give up… Because the more you stick to a certain part of your life, the stronger you will be because that is your strength. Bolte hain dhai kilo ka haath, maine bola, nahi, yeh meri sachhai hai jo mujhe taakat deti hai, aur kuch nahi (they talk about my hand that weighs 2.5 kg. I say, no, it’s my authenticity that gives me strength).

Bobby Deol: I have been through ups and downs, and I have seen my dad, who’s a legend, going through ups and downs as well. I learned from that, but yet I kind of started giving up. But my whole family was there — my brother, my mom, my dad, my sisters and my wife. I was very blessed, but if you want to achieve something in life, you can’t just wait for someone to hold your hand. You have to stand on your feet. So I guess when I decided to do that, I started moving forward and then just things started falling in place. I don’t look at it as success, I look at it more like the love I get from everyone. You know, I’m driving on the streets and suddenly someone comes banging on my door and I’ll say, photo leni hai (do you want to take a photograph?), and they say, ‘nahin, aapko bas dua deni hai ki aap aur aage bade (no, we just want to bless you)’.

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Aakash Joshi: Border (1997) and Gadar (2001) were the two big patriotic films we grew up with. Now, you’ve delivered another film like that (Gadar 2), which connects at that level. How do you see the audience having changed, as well as their relationship to a character like Tara Singh?

Sunny Deol: I always like to play characters who go through a fight and win. On the point of patriotism, I think we all are patriotic, we all love our mother and our country is our mom. So it’s very natural. Coming to Border, it all started because I had seen my dad’s film, Haqeeqat (1964) and I always wanted to do a war film. Then director JP Dutta narrated the story of the Battle of Longewala to me and it took off from there. Somehow the film touched everybody’s hearts. To me, Gadar was always a love story. I remember when it was released, many people from the fraternity and others, too, criticised it, but the audience loved it. Fortunately, that’s the film that brought me back — but it took 20 years. I was sure people would like it because the character of Tara Singh struck a chord with people. He’s such a humble, sweet, lovey-dovey guy and at the same time, when it comes to his family, he’s stronger than Superman. And that is what everybody wants, their father, somebody there to be like that. Many young people have watched it on the digital platform and I was very happy and surprised to see that many young people came to watch Gadar 2.

Sunny and Bobby Deol share an emotional moment at SCREEN Live. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)

Jyoti Sharma Bawa: At one point of time, films were made with passion. Things have changed so much of late. Algorithms have kicked in, the big studios have taken over. How do you see this transition in filmmaking?

Sunny Deol: Earlier, we never used to even have contracts and it was just kisi ki zubaan (someone’s word). Now you make contracts which are bigger than an encyclopedia and still a person who wants to cheat you can cheat you. The corporates came in and they were not actually creative people. So things went the way they did because the way of cinema started changing.

Aakash Joshi: Do you think OTT has opened more doors, both for actors, of course, and creators, but also for audiences?

Bobby Deol: Yes, I think the OTT platform is like IPL. Just as IPL helps a lot of young cricketers to get noticed and then they get selected for the Indian cricket team, (similarly) I think the OTT platform has given work to so many people. I think that changed my life, too, because I was dying to change my image. And so I got this offer for Class of 83 and that was the beginning of everything for me. Then I got Aashram, which was again very challenging. I still remember when I was offered Aashram, I never told my mom, dad or my brother. I knew they would tell me not to do it because the character was too controversial. And that is exactly what I was trying to do — break away from the image of being a Deol. The Deols are always the good guys but we are actors, we don’t want to just play good guys. I want to play different characters and challenge myself as an actor, do work which is out of my comfort zone.

So, Aashram happened, then I did another film called Love Hostel. I think eventually all these shows and movies I did on OTT got me noticed and I got Animal. I remember the days when I didn’t have much work or I didn’t have work at all. I love cricket, so I was playing this celebrity cricket league and there’s a picture of me standing in the stands just lost in my own world. Then Sandeep Reddy Wanga (director of Animal) came to me and said I want you for this film because of the photograph I saw of you and I want this, my character has to have this emotion. I was so happy, I said, meri bekaari ke din kaam agaye (my days of doing nothing have come handy).

Aakash Joshi: Increasingly, space for a film like Ghatak (1996), which is a mainstream hit, but it also has a message, it also has complexity, is shrinking. It’s all about spectacle now. Can films like Arjun, Ziddi, etc. be made for the big screen today?

Sunny Deol: Yes, they can be made. The problem is because of the corporates coming in, directors who are capable of doing it, writers who are capable of giving that kind of stories, have been sidelined. They dismiss them saying, ‘Oh that’s old, he’s not today, he’s not young, he’s not thinking young. It is not thinking young or thinking old’, it has to be thinking about the depth of our society, the depth of the characters.

Jyoti Sharma Bawa: Bobby has spoken about his struggle. How did the family support him?

Sunny Deol: The reality of life is that there are camps everywhere. Some people are very upfront, like us Jats, we are not scared of anything, we speak the truth and many people don’t like it. In the ’80s and ’90s, many big houses never worked with my father or with me. That’s how I became a producer.

Also Read | Bobby Deol shares his love story with wife Tanya Deol, calls her ‘my backbone’: ‘Despite us being a joint family, she stood by us’

Aakash Joshi: What is it about the Deol family that people find you accessible?

Sunny Deol: I think that’s the way we are. Basically, we don’t give up. We don’t follow what others are doing. You can do it your way, with your own dignity.

Bobby Deol: The only reason why we got into social media was because we wanted to connect with the younger generation. We are just who we are and that’s what we show. I mean, my dad is so real. Why people enjoy his Instagram is because he’s not trying to prove a point, he’s just trying to share his moment and the way he is.

Jyoti Sharma Bawa: We saw the teaser for Jaat recently. The release of Border 2 has been announced. Is Ramayan also happening?

Sunny Deol: I have quite a few good projects now. Jaat will be released shortly. It’s out-and-out how people want — action, maar-dhaad but with a story with characterisation. It’s not just simply a bang-bang out there. Then there is a film that I’m doing with Rajkumar Santoshi, which is called 1947 Lahore, it is based on an old play, Jis Lahore Nahi Dekhya Woh Jamiya Nahin. Then there’s Border and Ramayan, which is a long (drawn out) project. It’s going to be made the way Avatar and Planet of the Apes was made. All those technicians are part of it. So it’s a mega project, the writing is the way it has to be, and the the characters, too. We will get to see special effects which make you believe that it is genuinely happening. I’m very sure it will be a great treat and everybody will love it.

Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol pose for SCREEN Cover. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

QUICK QUESTIONS WITH ANANT GOENKA

Tell us the one thing that annoys you about each other.

Sunny Deol: Nothing annoys me about my brother because he is so much younger to me, like a child to me. But I remember my day would start when his day would end!

Bobby Deol: He likes to get up early and sleep early. I mean, that’s really annoying. How can anyone do that?

Is there any message you would like to share with the younger generation?

Sunny Deol: Live your life, enjoy it, but be sensible. Every day, do one thing: Go hug your mom and dad. That will make them happy. I’m very close to my mom. I’m close to my dad too, but with dad, he has always been the ‘fear factor’. Is that so with everyone? I think with the girls, it’s always the mother, who is the fear factor and the father is the darling. With boys, it’s the reverse.

Just a few words about the idea of a joint family, which is getting less and less common.

Bobby Deol: We are lucky we have the space to live together. I think what everyone needs to do is even if they can’t stay in the same house together, they should make time for one another.

One lesson North Indian cinema can learn from South Indian cinema.

Sunny Deol: Get back to our roots.

The evolution of women in Indian cinema from Betaab (1983) to Gadar 2 (2023) and from Barsaat (1995) to Animal (2023).

Sunny Deol: Cinema is always a reflection of society. So the way things have been changing in society is a reflection of the way things are changing in cinema as well.

Bobby Deol: How can a story be written without being influenced by what’s happening in society? I think there are amazing actors now. A lot of women are getting more work. And more women-oriented subjects are being made. There are so many stories you can write about a woman’s life. So, I think a lot has changed.

AUDIENCE QUESTIONS

One thing young actors do which you think is wrong?

Sunny Deol: I just want all young people who want to become actors to first see that you really have it in you. And when you have it, work on your skills. We have all emotions within us. And when an actor can bring all those experiences which are within himself into that character and live it… I would really love it if actors who are coming up do not take shortcuts and work hard.

Bobby sir, which is that one role that you cherish till today?

Bobby Deol: Dillagi (1999). Bhaiyya made me discover what I’m capable of. I feel it was one of my best performances in that period of my career. So, do go and see Dillagi, it’s a lovely film.