The resurgence of Deols

How the family has emerged from the shadows and surprised the industry with three films that have sent cash registers ringing

Over two decades ago, Plot Number 22 was a landmark in Juhu. However, the distinction of the Deol home where brothers Sunny, 66, and Bobby, 54, reside along with their families had over time become diminished. In June this year, the three storeyed bungalow spread across 1600 square yards turned the spotlight back on itself as a bedecked bride when Sunny’s first-born Karan wed his long-time girlfriend, Drisha Acharya.

Three is company: While Sunny Deol’s ‘Gadar2’ has raked in over ₹500 crore, his father Dharmendra made a mark as an Alzheimer’s patient pining away for his old love in ‘RARKPK’, and the Bobby’s 21-minute appearance as the villainous Abrar in ‘Animal’ has earned him the moniker ‘Lord Bobby’. (HT photo)

Snapshots and reels on social media showed three generations of Deol men letting their hair down, led by the 88-year-old patriarch Dharmendra.

Two months later the household had more than one reason to celebrate. ‘Gadar 2’, headlined by Sunny Deol, as Tara Singh, released and stunned every one with box office collections of over ₹500 crore. Alongside, Dharmendra stole the show playing a lonesome poet battling Alzheimer’s in Karan Johar’s ‘Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani’ while Bobby Deol’s villainous turn as Abrar in ‘Animal’ has earned him the moniker ‘Lord Bobby’.

“The Deols have collectively pooled ₹1150 crore NBOC (nett box office collections) in India and ₹463 crore in GBOC (gross box office collections) internationally,” said producer and trade analyst Girish Johar. “As ‘Animal’ continues to fly, the India and overseas collections will climb.”

“It has been a blockbuster year for the Deols, and Sunny’s contribution to the cumulative collection is sizeable, because he singularly carried ‘Gadar 2’ on his shoulders; had there been no Sunny, the Gadar magic would not have happened,” said trade analyst Komal Nahata.

Producer-distributor-exhibitor N R Pachisia added that Dharmendra’s cameo in ‘RARKPK’ and Bobby’s unmissable act in ‘Animal’ are crucial to the resurgence of Deols. “When a film hits the jackpot, you realise that every player has collectively contributed to its magic,” he said.

After a protracted period of lull, the wheels of fortune started to turn slowly for the brothers from around 2020. Bobby stirred the pot with Prakash Jha’s ‘Aashram,’ where he portrayed an unscrupulous godman-like character. His work generated drawing room conversations. As Sunny said, “‘Aashram’ streamed free and everyone was hooked. It made Bobby a household name. In ‘Animal’ he had a small role but ‘Lord Bobby’ is on everyone’s lips.’’

The industry has known the Deols to be a tenacious lot. “One should never give up. I am 54, and I almost threw in the towel a few years ago. I was going nowhere and staring into an abyss. I had no motivation to work,” said Bobby. Filmmaker Rahul Rawail, who directed Bobby in ‘Aur pyaar ho gaya’ said the actor was consumed by self-doubt in his lean phase. Alcohol was his company and he rarely stepped out of the house for days. He was staring into nothingness. His wife Tanya went to work and he stayed home doing nothing.

In that time in almost an epiphanic flash, one day he looked at his sons – Aryaman, 22, and Dharam, 19 – and felt it was time to shake off the self-pity, as “my sons may think our father gave up too easily”. He hit the gym, regained his health and headed straight for the strobe lights.

“‘Animal’ is three hours and 21 minutes long. I am there for three hours; Bobby for 21 minutes. Yet, everyone is talking about Bobby rather than me because of his swag,” said Ranbir Kapoor, the film’s lead actor.

Looking back at the turnaround over the last few months, Bobby observed, “Bhaiyya has just given ‘Gadar 2’ which is an all-time blockbuster. Papa was distinctive in ‘RARKPK’. He was adorable and charismatic. No one could have achieved what he did in the film. With such shining lights at home, I had no reason to ever doubt what we as a family can do.”

Before the wonderous 2023 settled on him, Bobby already had a spring in his step with ‘Class of 83’ (film) and ‘Aashram’ (web series). “Both brought me great notices.”

“I did ‘Aashram’ because I wanted to make a change. I also did ‘Love Hostel’. Now I hear people want to make spin-offs of that character,” he laughed. There are also fans on the internet that call themselves Boobians, after he essayed the role of Abrar. “I had a gut feel about this film. I shot for a fortnight, but the results are for all to see.”

“It is as if we were all asleep for a long time. We woke up and the world around us had changed,” said Sunny. “There were many problems in my life in the last few years but post the success of ‘Gadar 2’, everything and everyone around us have changed.”

The patriarch looks upon his sons as simpletons. “Sunny can be a bit naïve. I am glad he is having a good year with his latest. It was long overdue. I kickstarted the year with ‘RARKPK’. My kiss with Shabana is still being talked about. I never understood what the fuss was all about though. Bobby is a good boy too but he can be a badmaash. We are a close-knit family and not good at marketing ourselves,” he said.

Rawail dwelled on the difference in attitudes of the brothers – Sunny is unshakable, Bobby laidback. “Both are good actors; but Bobby lacks fire whereas Sunny is a fighter. I have never seen Sunny slacking. I met him many times during his lean phase when he spoke to me about how he was feeling down as his films were not working. He is known to keep to himself. But all that seems like a thing of the past,” said Rawail. “I saw him dancing at ‘Gadar 2’s promotional event in Delhi. I was pleasantly surprised. Today he is comfortable with the media and public. He was not so 20 years ago.”

The success of the film has made it easier for Sunny to speak about his turbulent times – “when you are on top of the world, like I am at the moment, looking back even at the hurt and hurdles is easier.”

“Imagine giving a blockbuster like ‘Gadar: Ek Prem Katha’ (2001) and then struggling for good work for almost 19 years. Usually, when you give a big hit, producers lap you up. But that did not happen in my case,” he said. Times were changing and he found adapting to the corporate culture tough – “there were so many suits and so many opinions.”

“Almost everyone seemed to know what was good for me except me. Someone said the emphasis is on remakes; others said it was youth. I did not want to do remakes back then nor graduate to character roles. I was angry, irritated and hurt but the anger dissipated because I realised, I was not the only one who was going through a career crisis. There were others too who were fighting change,” he said.

Today, he has been rediscovered by several filmmakers -- Rajkumar Santoshi used the IFFI platform in Goa recently to say how the industry was unjust towards Sunny, moving the actor to tears. After 27 years, Santoshi will direct Sunny in ‘Lahore, 1947’, which is being produced by Aamir Khan. Santoshi and Sunny had worked together in the ’90s in films such as ‘Damini’, ‘Ghayal’ and ‘Ghatak’.

And he has signed a few mean checks for ‘Lahore, 1947’ and ‘Border2’ as well. “It’s business. A pay hike comes with being saleable.”

Today he has no qualms in accepting that he rode on a sense of entitlement for the first 50 years of his life.

“I took things for granted. I did not in my wildest dreams imagine that I would land myself in a spot with my dubbing theatre Sunny Super Sound. I am the eldest and I was doing too many things simultaneously. I was trying to make a film for my father after his peak was over. I was finding subjects for Bobby and I was trying to launch my older son, Karan. I was just all over the place and did not pay much attention to expenses. I created certain assets (like Sunny Sound) because that is how you expand a business. However, sometimes you stand defeated. I made mistakes with money, but that is the nature of the business. Everyone goes through tough times. It is about riding it out with dignity,” he said.

The launch film for Karan -- ‘Pal pal dil ke paas,’ in 2019 -- tanked. Produced by Zee Films and directed by Sunny, the actor put in nearly ₹25 crore to reshoot the film, compromising the budget. He went overboard with another home production ‘Yamla pagla deewana2’, leading to Sunny Sound getting mortgaged to a bank. When he failed to pay ₹56 crore, accrued from December 2022, in August this year Bank of Baroda launched recovery proceedings (which it retracted the very next day).

His personal net worth is reportedly ₹130 crore, apart from which Sunny Sound is worth ₹120 crore.

For now, the creases may have been ironed out but celebrations have to wait; the brothers are inundated with engagements. “My brother has been wanting to get the family together for a celebration, but we have too many commitments suddenly,” said Bobby, who finds himself shuttling between Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Hyderabad for meetings these days. The film industry in the south has woken up to his charms, but the actor cannot divulge much now.

As for Sunny, he is looking forward to a short break in Himachal Pradesh. “There are some villages in HP that have just 100 houses. That’s where I take my break. I like the serenity and quiet. It’s my escape from mayhem.”