Sunny Deol gets emotional at IFFI as Rajkumar Santoshi says ‘industry did not do justice to him but God did’

Despite the tough men he plays on screen, Sunny Deol has never shied away from showing his emotions in real life.

At the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) taking place in Panaji, Goa, Sunny got teary-eyed during a conversation with his three most successful and frequent collaborators – filmmakers Rahul Rawail, Anil Sharma, and Rajkumar Santoshi.

Why did Sunny get emotional?

Sunny was visibly emotional as he interacted with the three directors, who shaped his career. In a video floating on X (formerly Twitter), the actor, who featured in the blockbuster Gadar 2 recently, is seen getting teary-eyed at one particular remark by Rajkumar Santoshi. While the remark isn’t audible in the video, a report by The Indian Express quotes Rajkumar as saying, “I believe that the industry has not done justice to Sunny’s talent. But God has done justice.” At this point, Sunny breaks down into tears.

What did Sunny say?

When Rajkumar Santoshi asked Sunny about his journey, the actor said, ““I have been really very lucky. I just get too emotional, that’s my problem. I was very fortunate. I started with Rahul. He gave me three beautiful films.

Some worked, some didn’t. But till today, people remember those films. I am standing here because of my films.

After Gadar, which was a massive hit, my struggle period had started because subjects or scripts were not offered to me and things were not happening. Even though I did some films in between, there was a gap of 20 years. But I did not give up. I was always moving forward. I joined films because I wanted to become an actor, not a star. I had seen the films of my father and I too wanted to do films of that variety.”

Sunny is the son of veteran actor Dharmendra. He made his debut with Rahul’s 1983 romantic film Betaab. The actor rose to fame in the 1990s with Rajkumar Santoshi’s blockbusters like Ghayal (1990), Damini (1993), and Ghatak: Lethal (1996). He will soon reunite with Rajkumar for 1947 Lahore, a period drama produced by Aamir Khan. Sunny scored the biggest hits of his career with Anil Sharma, in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001) and its recent sequel, Gadar 2, which crossed ₹500 crore at the domestic box office.

Sunny will also be seen in the film Baap.