Sunny times again for the elder Deol

Aug 21, 2023

By: Katya Naidu

The Gadar effect

Sunny Deol is on a high after his latest movie Gadar 2 has raked in ₹433 crore worldwide so far and has maintained a strong run up even in its second week.

Credit: IANS

The action hero of the 90s

Gadar 2 is a sequel to Deol’s 2000 superhit which is one of India’s biggest blockbusters adjusted to inflation. Post that success however, the loved action hero suffered a long dry spell at the box office.

Credit: IANS

The punch dialogues

In spite of being a part of forgettable movies in the last few years, Deol’s punch dialogues like ‘Dhai kilo ka haath’ and ‘Tariq pe Tariq’ have become a part of urban lingo all over India.

Credit: IANS

Debut with Sara’s mom

Sunny Deol who is known to keep a low profile, made his debut in 1982 in Betaab where he co-starred with Amrita Singh, mother of actress Sara Ali Khan.

Credit: BCCL

Tryst with romance

Like many debutants, Deol did many romantic movies with varied success, and in spite of being a part of superhits like Tridev, he struggled to find his groove in the 80s.

Credit: IANS

The ‘action hero’

Sunny Deol’s career was turbocharged in 1990, after his path-breaking movie Ghayal announced him as a full-time action hero. Since then, there was no looking back.

Credit: BCCL

The superhit spree

The 90s saw many hits from Deol’s stable, be it Vishwatma, Ghatak, Gunah, Darr, Border and even the offbeat Damini, where he plays a lawyer who supports the titular character played by Meenakshi Seshadri.

Credit: IANS

The turn of the century

Action movies waned in the 2000s as romantic movies which took up screen space. In this period, Deol did a few spy/police officer movies or teamed up with his father and brother for Apne and Yamla Pagla Deewana series.

Credit: IANS

Second time lucky

After experimenting with Mohalla Assi and being part of ensemble casts, Deol had attempted a sequel of his other superhit, Ghayal Returns. However, as fate would have it, his true comeback movie had to be the sequel of the partition era hit, Gadar.

Credit: IANS

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