THE Deol family have been an integral part of Bollywood for more than 60 years. They had been largely in the wilderness until an unexpectedly successful 2023 turned things around for them.
After two decades of forgettable flops, the sequel Gadar 2 defied negative reviews to become a Bollywood blockbuster, re-igniting the career of lead star Sunny Deol.
The Bollywood hardman announced himself as an action hero again to a brand new generation and suddenly went from getting very few offers to movie producers wanting to sign him up again. This included demands for him to do a sequel to his super-hit 1997 war epic, Border. After being linked to several projects, the 66-year-old signed up to star in Lahore, which is being produced by Aamir Khan and directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi, who had previously given him some of his biggest hits, such as Ghayal (1990).
Sunny’s younger brother Bobby Deol was being lined up to star in the 2007 super hit Jab We Met, but was unexpectedly ejected from the project and replaced with Shahid Kapoor. After this incident, the talented actor went on a dramatic downward spiral that ended up with him starring in web serials. But an impactful appearance as the antagonist in the super-hit film, Animal, has put him firmly back on the radar of top production houses.
He was widely appreciated by everyone, from fans to film critics, in the action entertainer, despite not having many scenes in it. The 54-year-old is now looking forward to reestablishing himself after seeing his film career go off a cliff edge in the past 15 years.
Sunny Deol
The Bollywood brothers will now try to turn these sparks into a substantial film fire. They will only be able to do this by learning from previous mistakes and making much better choices. At their age, selecting the wrong films now will derail their respective careers permanently.
In previous years, when they have ridden the wave of a successful film, they have usually followed it up with stinkers. Both need to play to their strengths and find roles similar to the ones that catapulted them back into big league in 2023.
Bobby looks like he is doing that by now choosing villain roles and this includes playing the antagonist in the forthcoming big-budget Tamil entertainer, Kanguva.
They are not the only Deol family members who got a big boost in 2023. Their father, Dharmendra, made a touching appearance in the popular romantic comedy Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani. Now, the 88-year-old is being offered similar grandfather roles. (Hopefully, the father and his two sons won’t team up for another instalment of their headache-inducing comedy franchise, Yamla Pagla Deewana).
The only blackspot for the family in 2023 was Sunny Deol’s son Rajveer Deol’s debut film, Dono, being a box-office disaster and effectively killing any chances of a frontline career. That was similar to his brother Karan Deol acting in the 2019 flop, Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, and not doing another movie again. It is now down to the older members of the family to capitalise on last year’s success and make the Deol family proud again. They can only do that by making smart choices.
Migrants in a dinghy crossing the English Channel
Sunder Katwala
