Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; January 31, 2019)

An old adage says that people change with the changing times, but there are exceptions to every rule. Sunny Deol has never felt the need to reinvent or get in line with the current trends. He may be on social media, but he's not one to tom-tom about his banner or his own achievements. He believes in giving his best shot, even to those films that take several years in production. And he doesn't get bothered when these labour of love doesn't find a big audience. Strip away the stardom and Sunny is a Punjabi, proud of his roots; a man who takes pride in the fact that he made it big in Bollywood on his own terms. In a candid conversation with BT, he speaks about perceptions that drive the business, his dispassion for biopics and the crazy world of filmi equations. Excerpts...

You had two films, Bhaiaji Superhit and Mohalla Assi, stuck for seven years, while they finally released in 2018, neither managed to make any impact at the box office. That must have hurt?
It’s unbelievable, but both the films had started off in the same year, too. I did not disassociate myself from them because I think people remember how honest your performance was, irrespective of the fate of a film. Everyone wants their film to work, but unfortunately, our system functions on perceptions. If a film is not playing prominently, then it’s assumed that there’s a problem with it.

Also, people today know that they have other avenues to watch a film, so there’s no urgency to catch something first day, first show. Of course, some films get way more shows than others and that builds a different perception around them. The nature of our business is such that you can’t cry and crib about it. I’ve always worked with new filmmakers and never chased camps and big studios. But sometimes, I wonder whether managing the scale of a film’s release is also an actor’s job now?

The popular perception is that the Deols (Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby) are people who make emotional decisions even in the professional space. It is also believed that this soft emotional side to you has led to instances where people from the industry have taken you for a ride. Has that changed in recent years?
Sometimes, I try to think about these things through my head, but my heart always wins over. But honestly, I feel I won’t be able to work if I think with just my head. Yes, when something goes wrong, we do analyse what didn’t work. Having said that, if we Deols had to change our approach to life and work, it would have happened a long time ago. After all the ups and downs we've gone through, we’re still the same. As for people taking us for a ride, I feel sad for those who did that to us. I feel terrible for the kind of people they are. Waise, maine theka nahi liya kisiko sudhaarne ka, it’s their karma. People only remember the film and the performances, not what went into it. So, we also don’t want publicity for anything other than our work.

From the time you made your debut with Betaab (1983) to now, is there a life lesson that you hold close to your heart?
I’ve learnt to be patient. I was an impatient person at the outset, but this profession taught me to keep my cool. You have to learn to control your anger and emotions at all times. There are moments when you do let go and that can damage your prospects. It hampers your performance on the big screen. That’s the reason I’ve calmed down a lot. People find it hard to believe that I don’t beat up people in real life. They expect me to do that, maybe because I do it so convincingly on camera, but in reality I often disappoint them.

Do you feel your peers like Jackie Shroff and Anil Kapoor have reinvented themselves as actors, but have you missed the bus?
There’s no such thing as catching or missing a bus. The moment a film does well, a mysterious bus just appears out of nowhere (laughs!). I have been busy with so many things in my life that I haven’t really concentrated on myself. Now, I am working on projects that will release in good time. Box office is very important, so you have to work in films that are more relevant today and made well, too. By that, I don’t mean I will start working in biopics, which are the in-thing today. For me, a realistic character is good enough.

So, you’re not interested in biopics?
I find biopics really gimmicky, unless they are made with realism. Border (1997), for instance, was based on a real story, but I wasn’t imitating anyone. You can’t possibly look like the person you’re playing in a biopic anyway.

As an actor, at this stage of your career, what’s your plan for the future?
I really don’t know. Everything will depend on what Rajkumar Santoshi and I do with our film, which starts soon. I am planning to work in many more films. I’ve always played characters that are mentally and physically strong, purely because of the way I look. I will continue doing that, but with a sight twist. I will play characters that are more real and ones that suit my age. I like what Clint Eastwood does. I mean, the film centres on him, but it’s a character, not a hero in the typical sense. I like strong characters. I played a lawyer in Damini (1993). It was a much smaller role, but had a lot for me to bite into. Trust me, no one wanted to take up that role. I was also told to drop out of it, but I didn’t. My approach to work will remain the same. I am not in a rush, I never was. If something comes to me, I will take it up if it offers me enough to do on screen. I am not lucky enough to deliver a bad film and still be a successful actor. More importantly, moving forward, I will see to it that I pick up projects where I only have to act, and not perform other duties. My kids are like me; it frightens me sometimes because they’re going to become actors and I know it will be tough for them.

Do you feel with changing times, films and filmmakers have started giving more importance to characters as opposed to the image of the actors who portray them?
We’ve always had characters in our films, but sometimes, we’ve had actors who are stars, which overpowered everything else. There was a phase like that. The thing is, if someone is a star, he or she will be followed no matter how good or bad they are as actors. That will never change no matter how much we change the industry’s dynamics.

In today’s day and age, people rave about their achievements, even the smallest of it. With directors like Rajkumar Santoshi and Imtiaz Ali having flourished under your banner, why does your family never step forward to take credit for it?
We don’t look for credit and we don’t want it. That's also the reason why we are lagging in the race. We have never been the type ki hum accha kaam karenge, aur phir jaa jaa ke bolenge ki dekho ji humne kuch accha kiya. People know what we have done and that’s why we are here, not because the industry was supportive of us. We, Deols, have never tried to cash in on our position as producers or as actors. I don’t know if that was right or wrong. I don’t even see my films. I am their worst critic and every actor should be just like that. We don’t need others to tell us where we went wrong, we all know it.

One of the new-age mechanisms to stay relevant in the news and to catch up with fans is to be on social media. You don’t seem to follow that trend at all.
Ranbir Kapoor is a modern-day star, but I don’t find him on social media. And he is relevant and has fans, right? I don’t know what is good or bad about social media, but everyone hangs out there. It’s seems to be a platform to advertise and I don’t see it achieving anything more. I don’t interact with people much on social media because if I sit and do that all day, when will I work? Yes, there are days when I am tempted to react to conversations on social media, but I don’t give in to it. I sometimes feel like switching off everything because it’s such a distraction. I might sound like an old timer, but people need to have some privacy, too. To a degree, stars should not complain about the social media activities because we have provoked people to pay attention to us all the time.