I started doing films because I wanted to become an actor: Sunny Deol

Sunny Deol went through a rough patch in his career after the blockbuster success of his movie ‘Gadar: Ek Prem Katha’ but has now found happiness with the movie’s sequel, ‘Gadar 2’. At a masterclass session at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Tuesday, the actor became emotional talking about his journey in Hindi cinema that started with Rahul Rawail’s 1983 movie ‘Betaab’.

He said he was fortunate that he got to collaborate with directors like Rawail, Raj Kumar Santoshi and Anil Sharma in his four-decade-long career.

"I feel very lucky. I have been very fortunate. In my initial days, I had certain thoughts about the kind of movies that I wanted to do. I feel fortunate that I could do films the way I wanted. I remember the kind of cinema my father, Amitabh Bachchan ji, Vinod ji and Mithun ji were doing, which was really different. Of course, I did those kinds of movies later,” Deol said.

He added, “I started doing films because I wanted to become an actor, not a star. I grew up watching my father’s cinema and I wanted to have that kind of variety in my work.”

The actor is currently basking in the glory of ‘Gadar 2’, directed by Sharma.

“I believe I’m at this stage because of all the films I have done in the past. I remember that when ‘Gadar’ was released in 2000, it became a massive hit. But after that, my struggle started because I was not able to find the right kind of script. Things were not working out for me. I did films during this phase. Some did good business and some didn’t, but after a gap of 20 years, I have found happiness because of ‘Gadar 2’. It has provided me with a high. I become emotional these days a lot,” Deol said.