The whole world knows that Sunny Deol hails from a Jat family, but this week (April 10, 2025), he is in theatres to state the obvious with Gopichand Mallineni’s Jaat, which marks the Telugu director’s Hindi debut. The film also stars Regina Cassandra, Saiyami Kher and Vineet Kumar Singh.
“We needed a strong title, and there can’t be a more powerful title than Jaat,” Sunny deadpans as we settle for a chat in Delhi. The theme song that cleverly associates Jaat with Jai Shri Ram suggests a political spin, but Sunny says not to read too much into the film.
“Approach it as an entertainer,” he suggests. The star underlines that it is an original idea, unlike a rash of remakes of hits from southern film industries, and that is what hooked him after the success of Gadar 2
Sunny says that right from his father Dharmendra’s time, there has been cross-pollination of ideas and talent between the North and the South. “While the South kept making cinema, we moved to catering to specific sections of the audience. Objecting to classifying the audience of pan-Indian films as a mass, Sunny says it feels like undermining the taste of the majority that wants big-screen entertainment. “If a film works for the entire country, it doesn’t make the audience mass.”
Sunny Deol in ‘Jaat’.
| Photo Credit:
Mythri Movie Makers/YouTube
Looking back, he says the “action and aggression” that his early films like Arjun, Dacait, and Yateem represented is missing these days. “I feel the turmoil that the youth is going through is no different, but I can’t see a young actor or director who could capture that raw emotion the way someone like Rahul Rawail did.”
As the focus is back on Sunny, Lahore 1947, his association with his long-time associate, Raj Kumar Santoshi, is also generating buzz. Sunny says Raj, ‘the poor thing’, has been trying to tell the story based on Asghar Wajahat’s popular play Jisna Lahore Nahin Dekhya O Jamyai Nai for a long time.
“The success of Gadar-2 made it possible. See, the success of one kind of entertainer helped realising another kind of emotion and storytelling.” Co-starring Aamir Khan and Sabhana Azmi, the film is expected to change Sunny’s Gadar image. “The thappa (stamp) is so strong that it is hard to walk away. But yes, you never know. A powerful subject, a character seen in a new light, can change things.”
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The actor remembers the first press conference after the release of Ghayal, a blockbuster that marked his entry into production. “I was so apprehensive that I was almost crouching, but when I found that the critics had found it a fine blend of art and entertainment, I felt bold.”
For Sunny, mainstream cinema cannot be like visual arts, where what is beneath the surface, which is intangible for most, is valued higher than what’s on it or what everyone finds beautiful. “In visual arts, a painting is understood by a few, usually fetches the highest bid, but in cinema, what works for the maximum audience is the winner.”
‘Jat in Hollywood action’
When Randeep Hooda found out he was not considered for the title character in a film called Jaat, he was disappointed. “Coming from a community that takes pride in its identity, I took time to mull over the offer to play the antagonist. I sought advice from my family and friends, and they asked who was playing the lead then. When I said Sunny Paaji, I was told I must, as he is best suited to justify the title. So, I put my identity behind me and put on my acting shoes to play Ranatunga.”
Randeep Hooda in ‘Jaat’.
| Photo Credit:
Mythri Movie Makers/YouTube
Randeep grew up on a diet of Sunny Deol’s movies and recalls how Betaab drew him to horses at a young age. “I watched it in reruns, and the image of a young macho man on a horse got imprinted. So were the songs. We would sing the film’s songs to girls with no response from the other side.”
For us, the name Ranatunga, evokes memories of legendary Sri Lanka captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who was quite a thorn in the flesh of the Indian team when the Island Nation was at its peak in the 1990s. “You can say the inspiration has come from there, laughs Randeep. “Just that Randeep kicks and jogs better,” Sunny chips in.
Coming straight after directing the politically charged Swatantrya Veer Savarkar that took a lot out of him, physically and emotionally, Randeep says it was relaxing to be a “jamai (groom) on the set” all over again. “I asked Gopinath how I should approach the role. He said everything is designed, shot by shot. Cool, I said.” It looks otherwise, but Randeep insists that he is more commercial in his choices as a filmmaker than an actor.
ALSO READ:Randeep Hooda to shoot next Hollywood venture in Budapest
After Extraction, Randeep is upbeat about his second collaboration with director Sam Hargrave on Matchbox. “In the past, our actors like Om Puri and Irrfan (Khan) have played important roles in Hollywood and European films, but I take pride in the fact that I am the only one approached for hardcore action. See, Hollywood also needs a Jat for action,” Randeep roars.
Published – April 09, 2025 01:55 pm IST