Sunny Deol

Sunny Deol
Deol in 2024
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office
18 June 2019 – 4 June 2024
Preceded bySunil Kumar Jakhar
Succeeded bySukhjinder Singh Randhawa
ConstituencyGurdaspur, Punjab
Personal details
Residence3, 11th Road, Vile Parle, Mumbai
Born
Ajay Singh Deol

(1957-10-19) 19 October 1957 (age 67)
Sahnewal, Punjab, India
Occupations
  • Actor
  • film director
  • producer
  • politician
Years active1983–present
WorksFull list
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
Spouse
Lynda "Pooja" Deol
​
(m. 1984)​
Children2
ParentDharmendra (father)
RelativesSee Deol family
AwardsFull list
Signature

Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1957), better known as Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, politician and former Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian Parliament. He was elected from the Gurdaspur constituency of Punjab.[1] One of the highest grossing actors of Indian cinema,[2] he has worked in more than 90 Hindi films in a career spanning over four decades and is particularly known for his angry action hero persona.[3][4] Deol has won several awards including two National Film Awards[5][6] and two Filmfare Awards.[7]

The elder son of actor Dharmendra, Deol made his acting debut opposite newcomer Amrita Singh in the romantic drama Betaab (1983), a major commercial success.[8][9] He had further box-office hits in action films such as Arjun (1985), Paap Ki Duniya (1988) and Tridev (1989), and gained wider recognition for his portrayal of a boxer accused of murder in Rajkumar Santoshi's Ghayal (1990), winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actor[7] and the National Film Award – Special Jury Award (Feature Film).[10] His portrayal of a volatile lawyer in Santoshi's crime drama Damini (1993) won him the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor[11] and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.[7] He built on his career with Darr (1993), Jeet (1996), Ghatak (1996), Ziddi (1997), and Arjun Pandit (1999).

Deol had his biggest commercial successes in the period action films Border (1997) and Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001). The latter was the highest-grossing Hindi film to that point.[12][13][14] He subsequently starred with his father and younger brother, Bobby Deol, in the drama Apne (2007) and the comedy Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011).[15][16] After more than a decade of decline, he made a career comeback by reprising his role in Gadar 2 (2023), which became the highest-grossing film of his career and the sixth highest-grossing Hindi film of all-time.[17][18]

  1. ^ "Members : Lok Sabha". 164.100.47.194. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  2. ^ Hungama, Bollywood. "Highest Cumulative Box Office Collection by Actor - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  3. ^ "5 of Sunny Deol's 'Angry Young Man' avatars that can still make us 'Ghayal Once Again'". DNAIndia. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  4. ^ "When Salman Khan said he piggybacked on Sunny Deol if he felt gadbad in his career". IndiaToday. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
  5. ^ "40th nff 1993" (PDF). 9 March 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  6. ^ "27 years of Ghayal: Sunny Deol film succeeded despite clash with Aamir-Madhuri's Dil". Hindustan Times. 22 June 2017. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  7. ^ a b c "Filmfare Awards Winners From 1953 to 2020". filmfare.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  8. ^ "2018 Has High Number Of Blockbusters". 9 January 2019. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  9. ^ "The Nominations – 1982". filmfareawards.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  10. ^ "The Winners – 1990". filmfareawards.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  11. ^ "40thNationalAwards" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 July 2020.
  12. ^ "Box Office India". Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  13. ^ "Box Officex". Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  14. ^ "The Nominations – 2001". www.filmfareawards.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
  15. ^ "Apne". The Times of India. 1 January 2011. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  16. ^ "Hits 2011". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 27 December 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  17. ^ "Gadar 2 Box Office Collection Day 2: Sunny Deol's Film "Roars" At ₹ 43 Crore". NDTV. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).