Sunny Deol
Sunny Deol was born as Ajay Singh Deol on 19 October 1956 into a Punjabi Sikh family in the Sahnewal village of Punjab, India (near ludhiana) to Bollywood actor Dharmendra and Prakash Kaur. Sunny is eldest son of Dharmendra. His stepmother is Hema Malini. He has a brother Bobby Deol and two sisters Vijayta Deol and Ajeeta Deol who are settled in California, he also has two half-sisters, Esha Deol and Ahana Deol. His cousin Abhay Deol is also a successful actor.
He is an Indian film actor, producer and director. Often referred to as “Action King of Bollywood”.Deol was born to Bollywood actor Dharmendra.He has won two National Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards. He went to England to study acting. He joined theater called the Old Rep Theater in Birmingham, England where he studied theatre and acting.
Starting Career till now
1980: Deol made his debut opposite debutant Amrita Singh in Betaab (1983) which was a blockbuster & launched both Sunny & Amrita Singh’s career’s. His performance won him his first Filmfare Best Actor Award Nomination.He then went through a lean phase for a couple of years until Rahul Rawail’s Arjun (1985) came. The film went on to become a major hit and established Sunny’s status as an action hero. What followed were a bunch of hits like Dacait (1987), Yateem (1988) and Paap Ki Duniya (1988) In 1989, he had back to back hits with Rajiv Rai’s Tridev and Pankaj Parashar’s Chaalbaaz.
1990: With his portrayal of an amateur boxer wrongly accused of his brother’s murder in Rajkumar Santoshi’s Ghayal, Sunny proved that he still ruled the industry when it came to action sequences. Produced by the home banner Vijayta Films, the movie was an instant hit with the masses and went on to win seven Filmfare Awards.His performance won him his second Filmfare Best Actor Award and also his first National Film Award. In 1991, Sunny starred in about 5 films but only Narsimha was a success. Rajiv Rai’s Vishwatma was Sunny’s only release in 1992. His role of a lawyer in Damini – Lightning (1993) fetched him several awards and accolades in Bollywood. Shahrukh Khan shared screen space with Juhi Chawla and Sunny Deol in Yash Chopra’s blockbuster Darr. In the mid-nineties he delivered four big hits in a row Jeet (1996), Ghatak: Lethal (1996), Ziddi (1997) and Border (1997).In 1999, after starring opposite Juhi Chawla in Arjun Pandit, Sunny Deol tried his hand at direction and helmed Dillagi. He also acted alongside younger brother Bobby Deol and Urmila Matondkar in his directorial debut, which was very well appreciated by critics.
2000: In 2001, he starred in the film Farz opposite Preity Zinta.Sunny played the role of lorry driver Tara Singh who falls in love with a Muslim girl in Anil Sharma’s Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. The partition saga went to become an all time blockbuster and was the highest grossing Bollywood film ever that time and currently 5th highest grossing Bollywood film.He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award for his portrayal.His third release that year saw him playing the title role in the action film Indian, a remake of the Tamil film Vallarasu in which Sunny essayed the character of DCP Rajshekhar Azad, an honest police officer. The movie was a success.Sunny’s next few projects were extremely patriotic in nature and struck a chord with audiences across the country. He played the role of an Indian military officer in Maa Tujhhe Salaam and essayed the character of freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad in 23rd March 1931: Shaheed.
In 2003 Sunny Deol teamed up with director Anil Sharma yet again for The Hero: Love Story of a Spy, which also starred Preity Zinta and Priyanka Chopra in her first onscreen appearance. which released on 11 April and was billed as Bollywood’s most expensive film that time with an estimated budget of 60 crore(s) (US$11 million) The film received mostly positive reviews from critics and became the third highest-grossing Bollywood film of that year. Sunny made an appearance alongside Dharmendra and Bobby Deol in Apne (2007)[and then yet again in Yamla Pagla Deewana.
2010: Deol’s first release of 2010 was Right Yaaa Wrong. The film was critically successful, but moderately successful commercially. Yamla Pagla Deewana was Sunny’s only release in 2011 and one of the biggest successes of the year. In 2011, he started working in Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru’s I Love New Year opposite Tannishtha Chatterjee and in Chandraprakash Dwivedi’s Mohalla Assi opposite Sakshi Tanwar but for some reason’s both films have been delayed. For the first time in his career, Sunny will lend his voice (for Bheem) in the Animated film Mahabharata; produced by Jayantilal Gada of PEN India Pvt Ltd. His future ventures includes Neeraj Pathak’s Bhaiyyaji Superhitt, Anil Sharma’s Singh Sahab The Great, Sangeeth Sivan’s Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 and Rahul Rawail’s Ghayal Returns .
Personal life
Sunny Deol has always maintained a low profile in the media about his personal life. He is married to Pooja Deol. His wife has never faced the media till date like other celebrity wives. The couple have two sons Karan Deol(21) and Rajvir Deol(17).His elder son is all set to make his debut
Filmography
1983 Betaab
1984 Sunny
Manzil Manzil
Sohni Mahiwal
1985 Zabardast
Arjun
1986 Saveray Wali Gaadi
1987 Dacait
1988 Yateem
Inteqam
Paap Ki Duniya
Ram-Avtar
1989 Nigahen: Nagina Part II
Main Tera Dushman
Joshilaay
Tridev
ChaalBaaz
Vardi
Aag Ka Gola
1990 Kroadh
Ghayal
1991 Yodha
Shankara
Narsimha
Vishnu-Devaa
1992 Vishwatma
1993 Gunaah
Lootere
Kshatriya
Damini – Lightning
Izzat Ki Roti
Veerta
Darr
1994 Insaniyat
Imtihaan
1995 Dushmani: A Violent Love Story
Angrakshak
1996 Himmat
Jeet
Ajay
Ghatak: Lethal
1997 Border
Ziddi
Qahar
Zor
1998 Salaakhen
Iski Topi Uske Sarr
1999 Pyaar Koi Khel Nahin
Arjun Pandit
Dillagi
2000 Champion
2001 Farz
Gadar: Ek Prem Katha
Indian
Kasam
2002 Maa Tujhhe Salaam
Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani
Karz: The Burden of Truth
2003 The Hero: Love Story of a Spy
Jaal: The Trap
Khel – No Ordinary Game
2004 Lakeer – Forbidden Lines
Rok Sako To Rok Lo
2005 Jo Bole So Nihaal
2006 Naksha
Teesri Aankh: The Hidden
2007 Kaafila
Fool & Final
Big Brother
Apne
2008 Heroes Squadron Leader
2009 Fox
2009 Punjab Gold (Punjabi)
2010 Right Yaaa Wrong
Khuda Kasam
2011 Yamla Pagla Deewana
2012 Mahabharata
2013 Bhaiyyaji Superhitt
Singh Sahab The Great
Yamla Pagla Deewana 2
Ghayal Returns
Mohalla Assi
I Love New Year
Awards and nominations
National Film Awards
Won
1991: National Film Award – Special Jury Award for Ghayal
1994: National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for Damini
Filmfare Awards
Won
1991: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Ghayal
1994: Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for Damini
Nominated
1984: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Betaab
1997: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Ghatak: Lethal
1998: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Border
2002: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Gadar: Ek Prem Katha
IIFA Awards
Nominated
2002: IIFA Best Actor Award for Gadar: Ek Prem Katha
Lions Gold Awards
Won
2012: Lions favourite charming actor: Sunny Deol
Star Screen Awards
Won
2002: Best Actor for Gadar: Ek Prem Katha
Zee Cine Awards
Won
2002: Zee Cine Special Award for Outstanding Performance – Male for Gadar: Ek Prem Katha
Nominated
2002: Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Male for Gadar: Ek Prem Katha
Other awards
Won
2002: Best Actor Award for Gadar: Ek Prem Katha by the Sansui Viewers’ Choice Movie Awards.
Nominated
2011: Best Actor Award for Yamla Pagla Deewana by Bhaskar Bollywood Awards
2011: Jodi number 1 for Yamla Pagla Deewana with Dharmendra and Bobby Deol by Bhaskar Bollywood Awards
