Ajay Singh Dharmendra Deol (born 19 October 1956), better known by his stage name Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, politician and incumbent Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency) of Punjab, India. As an actor, he has worked in more than 100 Hindi films and earned the image of an angry action hero. He went on to star in numerous successful films in the 1980s and 1990s and is considered as one of the top stars of that time. Deol has won two National Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards.
Deol made his debut opposite fellow debutante Amrita Singh in Betaab (1983), for which he received a Filmfare Best Actor Award nomination. With his portrayal of an amateur boxer wrongly accused of his brother’s murder in Rajkumar Santoshi’s Ghayal in 1990, Deol gained wide recognition and praise and won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and the National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film). His portrayal of a lawyer in the film Damini – Lightning (1993) won him the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He starred in several other blockbuster movies such as Arjun (1985), Paap Ki Duniya (1988), Tridev (1989), ChaalBaaz (1989), Darr (1993), Jeet (1996), Ghatak (1996), Ziddi (1997), Border (1997), Arjun Pandit (1999) and Indian (2001).
Another milestone for Deol was Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), in which Deol portrayed a patriotic Indian truck driver, and the movie became the highest-grossing Bollywood film ever at the time of its release, garnering him a Filmfare Best Actor Award nomination. Later, Deol appeared alongside his father Dharmendra and brother Bobby Deol together for the first time in the 2007 hit, Apne; followed by a family comedy, Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011), which was also successful.
Early life
Sunny Deol was born as Ajay Singh Dharmendra Deol on 19 October 1956, in the village of Sahnewal in Punjab, India in a Punjabi Jat family, to Bollywood actor Dharmendra and Parkash Kaur.
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He has a younger brother Bobby Deol and two sisters Vijayta and Ajeeta who are settled in California, USA. Hema Malini is his stepmother. Actress Esha Deol and Ahana Deol are his half-sisters. His cousin Abhay Deol is also an actor.
Personal life
Sunny Deol is married to Pooja Deol (aka Lynda Deol) and the couple has two sons, Karan and Rajveer. Karan was an assistant director on Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 and has rapped in a song sung by Diljit Dosanjh in the film. Karan Deol has made his Bollywood debut in 2019 with the Hindi-language feature film Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas. In June 2023, son Karan Deol got married to Drisha Acharya in the presence of the Deol family, including Sunny Deol, Dharmendra and Bobby Deol, among others.
Sunny Deol Height Age Girlfriend Wife Family Biography
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Real Name | Ajay Singh Deol |
| Nickname | Sunny |
| Profession(s) | Actor, Filmmaker |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 174 cm in meters- 1.74 m in feet inches- 5’ 8” |
| Weight (approx.) | in kilograms- 85 kg in pounds- 187 lbs |
| Body Measurements (approx.) | – Chest: 44 inches – Waist: 34 inches – Biceps: 16 inches |
| Eye Colour | Brown |
| Hair Colour | Brown |
| Career | |
| Debut | Film (Actor): Betaab (1983) Film (Producer And Director): Dillagi (1999) |
| Awards, Honours | Filmfare Awards 1991: Best Actor Award for Ghayal 1994: Best Supporting Actor Award for Damini National Film Awards 1991: Special Jury Award for Ghayal 1994: Best Supporting Actor for Damini Other Awards 2002: Best Actor Award for Gadar: Ek Prem Katha by the Sansui Viewers’ Choice Movie Awards, Zee Cine Special Award for Outstanding Performance – Male for Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, Best Actor for Gadar: Ek Prem Katha 2012: Lions favourite charming actor: Sunny Deol |
| Politics | |
| Political Party | Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 19 October 1956 |
| Age (as in 2023) | 67 Years |
| Birthplace | Sahnewal, Punjab, India |
| Zodiac sign/Sun sign | Libra |
| Signature/Autograph |  |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Sahnewal, Ludhiana, Punjab, India |
| School | Sacred Heart Boys High School, Maharashtra |
| College/University | Ramniranjan Anandilal Podar College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai |
| Educational Qualification | Graduate |
| Religion | Sikhism |
| Caste | Jatt |
| Address | Plot No. 22, 10th Road, Juhu Scheme, Mumbai, India |
| Hobbies | Photography, Working Out At Gym, Trekking |
| Likes/Dislikes | Likes: Travelling, Driving Dislikes: Traffic on roads, Lies |
| Controversy | He had differences with Yash Raj Films and Shah Rukh Khan after the huge success of their film “Darr;” as Sunny believed his role was trimmed and Shah Rukh took all the limelight. Sunny never worked with YRF and Shah Rukh again. |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Affairs/Girlfriends | Amrita Singh (Actress, Rumour) Dimple Kapadia |
| Family | |
| Wife/Spouse | Pooja Deol |
| Children | Sons– Karan and Rajvir Daughter– None |
| Parents | Father– Dharmendra (Actor) Mother– Prakash Kaur (Real mother), Hema Malini (Step-mother, actress) |
| Siblings | Brother– Bobby Deol (Actor, Younger) Sisters– Vijayta (settled in California, USA), Ajeeta (settled in California, USA), Esha Deol (half-sister), Ahana Deol (half-sister) Cousin– Abhay Deol |
| Favourite Things | |
| Favourite Food(s) | Thai Food, Methi Ka Parantha, Lauki Ki Sabzi |
| Favourite Actor(s) | James Dean, Sylvester Stallone, Dharmendra |
| Favourite Destination(s) | Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India |
| Favourite Colour | Black |
| Favourite Song | Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas from the film Blackmail |
| Style Quotient | |
| Cars Collection | Silver SL500, Porsche Cayenne, Audi R8 |
| Money Factor | |
| Salary (approx.) | ₹5 Crore/film |
| Net Worth (approx.) | ₹339 Crore ($50 million) |
Acting career
Debut, breakthrough, & rise to prominence (1983-1989)
Deol made his debut in the 1983 romantic film Betaab in which role he was praised and he was nominated for best actor at Filmfare Awards. Deol has appeared in Rahul Rawail’s Arjun (1985), in which he played the titular role of an unemployed youngster. The film went on to become a major hit and established Sunny Deol’s status as an action hero. In 1986 he appeared alongside his father in Sultanat. In the final years of the decade he appeared in several hits including Paap Ki Duniya (1988), Tridev (1989) and ChaalBaaz (1989).
Action hero image, commercial success & superstardom (1990-2003)
Deol won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor in Rajkumar Santoshi’s 1990 film Ghayal. He paired with Aditya Pancholi in Vishnu-Devaa. From 1992 to 1997, he gave back to back hits with films like Vishwatma, Darr, Damini, Lootere, Jeet, Ghatak, Ziddi and Border. In 1999 he made his directorial debut with Dillagi starring himself, his brother and Urmila Matondkar.
His first blockbuster hit in the millennium was 2001 film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, directed by Anil Sharma, in which Deol played the role of a patriotic Indian truck driver, Tara Singh who falls in love with a Muslim girl, Sakeena, in the backdrop of 1947 partition violence, and makes a dramatic trip to Pakistan to get back his beloved. Gadar became the highest-grossing Hindi film up until then in mainstream cinema earning over ₹1.3 billion (US$16 million) worldwide and Deol was nominated for Filmfare Award for Best Actor once again. In the same year, Deol also worked in another successful action thriller film Indian (2001). Then, in 2003, Deol teamed up with director Anil Sharma yet again for The Hero: Love Story of a Spy, which also starred Preity Zinta and Priyanka Chopra. Released on 11 April, The Hero was billed as Bollywood’s most expensive film at that time with an estimated budget of ₹600 million (US$7.5 million). The film became the third highest-grossing Bollywood film of that year.
Box office fluctuations and expansion into comedies (2004-present)
Deol appeared alongside his father Dharmendra and brother Bobby Deol together for the first time in Apne (2007). In 2008, he appeared with his brother again in the ensemble film Heroes.
Deol’s first release of 2010 was Neeraj Pathak’s crime thriller Right Yaaa Wrong which had him playing a police inspector. Yamla Pagla Deewana which also featured him alongside his father and brother was Deol’s only release in 2011 and was one of the biggest successes of the year. In 2011, he started working in Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru’s I Love NY opposite Kangana Ranaut and in Chandraprakash Dwivedi’s Mohalla Assi opposite Sakshi Tanwar, but due to some reason both films were delayed and released several years later.
For the first time in his career, Deol lent his voice (for Bheem) in the Animated film Mahabharata; produced by Jayantilal Gada of PEN India Pvt Ltd. It earned ₹16.9 millions whereas Yamla Pagla Deewana earned ₹887.25 million Yamla Pagla Deewana 2, a sequel to his 2011 hit was released in 2013 but the film was a critical and box office failure. In the end of 2013 Deol teamed up with Anil Sharma yet again for Singh Saab The Great which was loved massively and created a big pandemonium in the cinema hall as well as on Facebook.
Having given a number of blockbuster hits earlier, from 2015 onwards, Deol has been getting several sequel movies. In 2016, Ghayal Once Again was released which was a sequel to his 1990 film Ghayal and is the second film directed by him. In 2017 he and his brother appeared in Shreyas Talpade’s comedy film Poster Boys, which became a semi hit at the box office. In 2018, Deol appeared in Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se, the third film in the franchise. Also that year, two of his long delayed films Bhaiyyaji Superhitt (where he plays a double role for the first time), and Mohalla Assi were released.
Meanwhile, in 2019, Deol took the mantle of a director again, his third film as a director, Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, which marked the debut of his son Karan Deol, with another newcomer Sahher Bambba in lead roles.
Further, in 2023, the sequel of the 2001 blockbuster Gadar, Gadar 2, is scheduled to be released on 11 August 2023; and film story is centered around the era of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, in which Deol as Tara Singh returns to Pakistan to bring back his son. It is directed and produced by Anil Sharma, and the film stars Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel, and Utkarsh Sharma in lead roles. Another sequel to the 2007 hit family movie, Apne, Apne 2 starring three generations of Deols with Dharmendra, Bobby Deol, and Karan Deol in under production; however, its release date is expected in late 2023/ early 2024.
Political career
Deol joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 23 April 2019. He won the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections from Gurdaspur constituency in Punjab against his rival Sunil Jakhar of Indian national Congress with a margin of 82,459 votes.
Filmography
Films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Betaab | Sunny Kapoor | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor |
| 1984 | Sunny | Sunny Inderjit | |
| Manzil Manzil | Vijay (Sonu) | ||
| Sohni Mahiwal | Mahiwal/Mirza Izzat Beg | ||
| 1985 | Arjun | Arjun Malvankar | |
| Zabardast | Sunder Kumar/Shyam | ||
| 1986 | Sultanat | Sultan | |
| Saveray Wali Gaadi | Ravidas | ||
| Samundar | Ajit | ||
| 1987 | Dacait | Arjun Yadav | |
| 1988 | Paap Ki Duniya | Suraj / Ashok | |
| Ram-Avtar | Ram | ||
| Yateem | Krishna | ||
| Inteqam | Ajay / Birju | ||
| 1989 | Vardi | Ajay Kumar Singh | |
| Joshilaay | Dara | ||
| Tridev | Karan Saxena | ||
| ChaalBaaz | Suraj | ||
| Nigahen: Nagina Part II | Anand | ||
| Main Tera Dushman | Gopal | Special Appearance | |
| Aag Ka Gola | Vikram Singh / Shankar ‘Shaka’ | ||
| 1990 | Majboor | Sunil | |
| Kroadh | Ajay ‘Ajju’ V. Shukla | ||
| Ghayal | Ajay Mehra | National Film Award – Special Jury Award Filmfare Award for Best Actor | |
| Badnam | Himself as Shankar’s friend Darshan | Special AppearanceBengali Language Film | |
| 1991 | Vishnu-Devaa | Vishnu Prasad / Vishnu Subramaniam / Jack D’Souza | |
| Yodha | Karan Srivastav | ||
| Shankara | Shankara | ||
| Narsimha | Narsimha | 25th Film | |
| 1992 | Vishwatma | Prabhat Singh | |
| 1993 | Lootere | Karan Chopra | |
| Kshatriya | Vinay Pratap Singh | ||
| Damini | Advocate Govind Srivastava | National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor | |
| Izzat Ki Roti | Jeet | ||
| Veerta | Mangal Singh | ||
| Gunaah | Ravi Sohni | ||
| Darr | Sunil Malhotra | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor | |
| 1994 | Insaniyat | Karim Lala | |
| Imtihaan | Raja | ||
| 1995 | Dushmani: A Violent Love Story | Suraj Singh | |
| Angrakshak | Ajay | ||
| 1996 | Himmat | Ajay Saxena | |
| Jeet | Karan | Nominated—Star Screen Award Best Actor | |
| Ghatak: Lethal | Kashi Nath | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor | |
| Ajay | Ajay | ||
| 1997 | Ziddi | Deva Pradhan | |
| Border | Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor Nominated—Zee Cine Awards for Best Actor – Male | |
| Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya | Himself | Special Appearance | |
| Qahar | Raja | ||
| 1998 | Zor | Arjun U. Singh | |
| Salaakhen | Vishal Agnihotri | ||
| Iski Topi Uske Sarr | Bhangra Dancer | Special Appearance | |
| 1999 | Pyaar Koi Khel Nahin | Anand | |
| Arjun Pandit | Arjun Dixit / Arjun Pandit | ||
| Dillagi | Ranvir Singh | Also Director | |
| 2000 | Champion | Rajveer Singh | |
| 2001 | Farz | DCP Karan Singh | |
| Gadar: Ek Prem Katha | Tara Singh | Zee Cine Special Award for Outstanding Performance – MaleStar Screen Award Best ActorSansui Viewers’ Choice Movie Awards for Best ActorNominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actor Nominated—IIFA Best Actor AwardNominated—Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Male | |
| Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke | Sagar | Special Appearance | |
| Indian | DCP Rajshekhar Azad | 50th Film | |
| Kasam | Shankar | ||
| 2002 | Maa Tujhhe Salaam | Pratap Singh | |
| 23rd March 1931: Shaheed | Chandrashekhar Azad | ||
| Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani | Karan Saxena | ||
| Karz: The Burden of Truth | Suraj Singh | ||
| 2003 | The Hero: Love Story of a Spy | Arun Khanna / Ajay Chakraborty / Batra / Wahid Khan | |
| Kaise Kahoon Ke… Pyaar Hai | Arjun Singh | Special appearance | |
| Jaal: The Trap | Ajay Kaul | ||
| Khel – No Ordinary Game | ACP Rajveer Scindia | ||
| 2004 | Lakeer – Forbidden Lines | Arjun Rana | |
| Rok Sako To Rok Lo | Kabir (Phantom) Mukherjee | ||
| 2005 | Jo Bole So Nihaal | Nihaal Singh | |
| 2006 | Naksha | Veer K. Malhotra | |
| Teesri Aankh: The Hidden Camera | ACP Arjun Singh | ||
| 2007 | Big Brother | Devdhar S.’Deva’ Gandhi / Devdhar Sharma | |
| Fool & Final | Munna | ||
| Apne | Angad Singh Choudhary | ||
| Kaafila | Sameer Ahmed Khan | ||
| 2008 | Tolly Lights | Special AppearanceBengali language film | |
| Heroes | Vikram Shergill | ||
| 2009 | Fox | Yashwant Deshmukh | |
| 2010 | Right Yaaa Wrong | Ajay Shridhar | |
| Khuda Kasam | Hussain | 75th Film | |
| Hello Darling | Nikhil Bajaj | Special Appearance | |
| 2011 | Yamla Pagla Deewana | Paramveer Singh Dhillon | Nominated—Best Actor Award by Bhaskar Bollywood AwardsNominated—Jodi number 1 by Bhaskar Bollywood Awards (with Dharmendra and Bobby Deol) |
| 2013 | Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 | Paramveer Singh Dhillon | |
| Singh Saab the Great | Saranjeet Talwar (Sunny) / Singh Saab | ||
| Mahabharat | Bhima | (Voice) | |
| 2014 | Dishkiyaoon | Lakwa Gurjar | |
| 2015 | I Love New Year | Randhir Singh | |
| 2016 | Ghayal Once Again | Ajay Mehra | Also Director |
| 2017 | Poster Boys | Jagaavar Chaudhry | |
| 2018 | Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se | Pooran | |
| Mohalla Assi | Dharamnath Pandey | ||
| Bhaiaji Superhit | Lal Bhaisahab Dubey | ||
| 2019 | Blank | SS Dewan | |
| Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas | Director | ||
| 2022 | Chup: Revenge of The Artist | IG Arvind Mathur | |
| 2023 | Gadar 2 † | Tara Singh | Post-production |
| Baap † | TBA | Filming | |
| Soorya † | TBA | Filming |
