Sunny Deol says 'Gadar 2' helped him connect with newer audience

MUMBAI: Actor Sunny Deol believes his recent release "Gadar 2" has helped him establish a connection with the younger audiences, who have now started exploring his past filmography.

The Anil Sharma-directorial, which landed in August, turned out to be a surprise hit of the year with over Rs 500 crore in worldwide gross, much like its predecessor "Gadar: Ek Prem Katha", which was the highest grossing Hindi movie of 2001.

"With ‘Gadar 2’, what happened is all my fans and all the people that wanted to see the kind of cinema which they had seen in ‘Gadar’, we kept the story that way and people came to see the character, which is deep rooted in their hearts.

"But the beauty of it was the new generation which has got connected to me. I was not connected to them otherwise. They got to see what I’m doing (in 'Gadar 2') and are now seeing some of my older films," Deol told PTI in an interview.

The 66-year-old actor reprised his role of Tara Singh in "Gadar 2", set years after the events of the first movie. It saw Tara Singh return to Pakistan in order to rescue his imprisoned son Charanjeet “Jeete” Singh (played by Utkarsh Sharma) during the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971.

When "Gadar 2" came out, Deol said, he visited some theatres and was bowled over by the response.

"I could see the love and appreciation. It all felt good. I'm thankful for the love and trust in me. From now on, I'll keep doing movies that people will love,” he added.

Prior to the film's release, Deol said the sentiment among the industry folks and critics was that the movie will not work at the ticket window.

"We would not know about the sentiment of the audience, we would know about the sentiment of the industry. Yaha industry ka sentiment itna woh nahi tha (The sentiment in the industry was not positive), they were making predictions, the critics and even others bashed the film," he said.

But the audience is open to all kinds of movies, whether it is his movie, his younger brother Bobby Deol's "Animal" or "Rocky aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani", which featured his father Dharmendra in a pivotal role.

"We make films for the audience. Our films are made for all kinds of audiences. Like there’s ‘Animal’ and ‘Rocky Rani'. Audience is accepting all kinds of films. If the critics want to critique a film, then they should write thesis on art movies, this cinema is not for that.

"It is high time that we all be nice and happy that this year has been so good for us and the audience is going back to theatres. We are today offering films that they want to see. It is a good time for Hindi cinema and I believe this will continue." As the eldest son of cinema icon Dharmendra, Deol started his cinema journey in 1983 with “Betaab” and enjoyed a great run in the initial years with hits such as “Arjun”, “Ghayal”, “Damini”, “Ghatak”, “Border”, “Arjun Pandit” and “Gadar”, among others.

Post "Gadar", he went through a dry patch which took him 20 years to overcome.

What kept Deol going in all these years is his sportsman spirit and a positive frame of mind.

"You have to walk a path. No matter how much you talk about it, argue or (do) self-pity, you still have to walk. Why waste your energy? "I’m a sports guy. You win or you lose, you learn and you move ahead. Sports guys have a positive adrenaline and that’s what I have in me. I’m one of those guys who gets up before the sun rises and goes to sleep (early). I love the days, I can’t take the nights," he said.

Asked whether he learned anything during the rough patch in his career, the actor said there is growth in a person every day.

"That’s how you keep moving, rather than sitting and thinking about it because what has to happen will happen. If it (success of ‘Gadar 2’) hadn’t happened, I would still be working like this only and would be trying to do something or the other. I would not be grumbling and criticising," he said.

The actor revealed he is working on a number of projects currently, including the sequel to his 2007 movie “Apne”. The follow-up will also feature his father Dharmendra, brother Bobby and son Karan Deol.

Besides, he will also star in "Baap" with Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff and Mithun Chakraborty, and “Lahore, 1947”, which will be produced by superstar Aamir Khan.

"There were a lot of proposals coming and it is very difficult to work with all of them. But you can’t do everything. There are a couple of films that I’m doing and they will be announced when they are ready to be announced. There’s a lot to do. I haven’t done much in the last so many years,” Deol said.

"Since ‘Gadar 2’, I've been doing a lot of films. There’s ‘Lahore’ and talks are on for ‘Border 2’," he added.

When asked if he will be collaborating with any contemporary filmmaker, the actor said directors of his era are still masters when it comes to presenting society and the nation's rich history.

"I somehow feel that directors with whom I’ve worked have more of a sense of society, emotions, values, country and our history. And that was reflected in our films, and that connected with people as well. Today, things are being made, they are nice and interesting but we are lacking in depth.” The actor, who turned director for films like "Dillagi" (1999), "Ghayal Once Again" (2016) and 2019's "Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas", which marked his son Karan's debut, has no plans to direct a movie.

"I’m not going to be on the other side anymore. I just want to be an actor. As an actor, I’ve taken myself away from everything," Deol said.