The reluctant action hero

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He began as the quintessential romantic hero in his debut Betaab, made an impact as the angry young man (think Arjun, Damini) and by the time Ghayal came around, had established himself as an action star par excellence. Sunny Deol is one of those few actors who managed to reinvent themselves with the changing currents of what is popular in each decade.

“I think I’ve been extremely lucky, I only ever competed with myself,” says the shy-almost-to-the-level-of-being-reclusive Sunny.
Surprisingly, he says he doesn’t like being identified with the kind of rhetoric and dialogue that took his fame to iconic levels, like the famous “dhai kilo ka haath”. “When you enter the film industry, you earn a tag based on the way you carry yourself. That sticks with you until you can break the stereotype. The dhai kilo ka haath tag has followed me since the Damini days,” says Sunny, a tad wearily, an emotion that becomes more explicable when he adds, “Action star is a title that belongs to my dad (Dharmendra). Deep down, I always wanted to do romantic roles. I am happy that I am finally getting that opportunity now.”
Such insights into what makes Sunny Deol tick are rare — the actor maintains such a low profile that knowing what he is like in his personal realm is well nigh impossible. Don’t expect him to illuminate you either, for Sunny politely dodges the question of who the “real” Sunny is with a “there isn’t much to the real Sunny Deol”. We express our disbelief, so Sunny says, “Well, I’m not the man you see on screen. The only character that comes close to my real personality is the one I played in Dillagi.”
The subject of Dillagi brings us to Ghayal Returns and the reports that Sunny wants to resurrect the family banner. “It is my dream to restart Vijayta Films which hasn’t released a film in the last five years. I’m working towards making the Vijayta name synonymous with the Deol family name. I launched talent like Abhay Deol and Imtiaz Ali with Socha Na Tha. My plans came to an abrupt halt but I intend to get things back on track soon,” he says.
And what about his plans to direct films? Sunny replies, “I’ve not given up on direction. I want to produce and direct more films with young love stories under our banner.”