The Story Behind Sunny’s Fists Of Fury

The
tide
has
turned
for
Sunny
Deol.He
has
another
actioner
in
the
upcoming

Jatt
and
has
reteamed
with
Rajkumar
Santoshi
after
almost
three
decades
for
the
Aamir
Khan
produced

Lahore
1947.
Dinesh
Raheja
chronicles
the
star
who
turned
67
on
October
19.

We
all
know
that


Sunny
Deol
is
Bollywood’s
Knockout
Man.

But
the
story
behind
his
fists
of
fury
continues:

Sunny
Deol’s
career
reached
its
zenith
early
in
the
new
millennium
with
the
release
of
Anil
Sharma’s
blockbuster,

Gadar:
Ek
Prem
Katha.

His
anguish
captured
the
human
tragedy
played
out
during
the
Partition
of
India,
and
the
plight
of
a
married
man
separated
from
his
wife
(Ameesha
Patel).

The
burly
actor
was
believable
as
a
man
willing
to
fight
extreme
odds
to
reunite
his
family.

Subsequent
films
such
as

Indian
(2001)
and

The
Hero
(2003)
garnered
impressive
box
office
initials,
indicating
a
groundswell
of
support
for
the
star.

Yet,
surprisingly
few
big
banner
films
were
offered
to
Sunny.

The
actor
has
lamented
his
lack
of
marketing
skills
and
this
did
prove
to
be
a
disadvantage
in
a
fast
corporatising
film
industry
of
the
2000s.

While
Dharmendra
and
brother
Bobby
have
more
expansive
personalities,
Sunny
has
always
been
something
of
an
introvert
—
all
his
leading
ladies
echo
comments
about
his
‘shyness’.

This
is
compounded
by
his
reluctance
to
talk
about
his
personal
life
in
the
press.
Sunny
had
to
rely
only
on
his
work
to
speak
for
itself.

One
marketing
strategy
the
Deols
did
adopt
was
to
band
together.

Anil
Sharma’s

Apne
(2007)
featured
father
Dharmendra
and
brother
Bobby
alongside
Sunny
as
a
man
carving
out
his
identity
amidst
conflicting
family
ties.

More
sentimental
than
contemporaneous
cinema,
the
film
found
a
receptive
audience.

Inspired
by

Apne‘s
success,
the
Deols
came
together
for
another
popular
film,

Yamla
Pagla
Deewana
(2011),
which
in
turn
led
to
a
lacklustre
sequel.

The
comedies
were
a
novel
departure
from
the
norm
for
Sunny.

Sunny
tried
his
hand
at
direction
thrice,
but
drew
a
blank
at
the
box
office
each
time
with

Dillagi
(1999),

Ghayal
Once
Again
(2016)
and

Pal
Pal
Dil
Ke
Paas
(2019).

The
last
film
launched
his
elder
son
Karan
while
younger
son
Rajveer
was
introduced
on
screen
by
the
Rajashris
in
the
recent

Dono.

Like
his
collaborations
with
Rahul
Rawail
in
the
’80s
and
Rajkumar
Santoshi
in
the
’90s,
it
is
Anil
Sharma’s
films
which
have
proved
to
be
the
mainstay
of
Sunny’s
career
in
the
new
millennium.

In
2023,
their
fifth
collaboration

Gadar
2
pivoted
pandemic-weary
audiences
back
towards
cinema
houses,
and
signalled
a
career
resurgence
for
the
actor.

The
tide
has
turned
for
Sunny.

He
has
another
actioner
in
the
upcoming

Jatt
and
has
reteamed
with
Rajkumar
Santoshi
after
almost
three
decades
for
the
Aamir
Khan
produced

Lahore
1947.

Even
as
he
turned
67
on
October
19,
Sunny’s
fists
of
fury
continue
to
fly
onscreen.

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