Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1956), better known by his stage name Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, politician and current

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

from

Gurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency) Gurdaspur Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 13 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Punjab state in northern India. The incumbent MP is Sunny Deol from Bharatiya Janata Party. Assembly segments Presently, Gurdaspur Lok Sabha constit ...

Punjab, India Punjab (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Himachal ...

. As an actor, he has worked in more than 100

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

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. He starred in several blockbuster movies such as '' Ghayal'', ''

Darr ''Darr: A Violent Love Story'' ( ''Fear'') is a 1993 Indian romantic psychological thriller film directed and produced by Yash Chopra under his banner Yash Raj Films. The film stars Juhi Chawla, Sunny Deol and Shah Rukh Khan with Anupam ...

'', ''

Damini ''Damini'' () is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed and co-written by Rajkumar Santoshi. It stars Meenakshi Seshadri in the titular role with Sunny Deol, Rishi Kapoor and Amrish Puri. Aamir Khan makes a special appearance. T ...

'', '' Jeet'', '' Ghatak'', '' ''Ziddi'', ''

Border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders c ...

'' and '' Gadar: Ek Prem Katha''. Deol has won two

National Film Award for Best Actor The National Film Award for Best Actor, officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Actor (), is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India instituted since 1967 to actors who have delivered the best performanc ...

and two

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

. Deol made his debut opposite fellow debutante Amrita Singh in ''

Betaab ''Betaab'' (''Restless'') is a 1983 Indian romance film written by Javed Akhtar, directed by Rahul Rawail and produced by Bikram Sing Dahal. The film stars Sunny Deol and Amrita Singh in their debut roles along with Shammi Kapoor. The music ...

'' (1983), for which he received a

Filmfare Best Actor Award The Filmfare Award for Best Actor is an award, begun in 1954, presented annually at the Filmfare Awards to an actor via a jury. This is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi (Bollywood) films. The award was fir ...

nomination. With his portrayal of an amateur boxer wrongly accused of his brother's murder in

Rajkumar Santoshi Rajkumar Santoshi is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter of Hindi films. Having received several accolades including three National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards, he made his directorial debut with the crime film ''Ghayal ( ...

's '' Ghayal'' in 1990, Deol gained wide recognition and praise and won the

Filmfare Award for Best Actor The Filmfare Award for Best Actor is an award, begun in 1954, presented annually at the Filmfare Awards to an actor via a jury. This is given by '' Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi (Bollywood) films. The award was firs ...

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 The National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor, officially known as the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Supporting Actor (), is an honour presented annually at India's National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), an ...

and the

Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the awards star ...

. Anil Sharma's '' Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'' (2001), in which Deol portrayed a lorry driver who falls in love with a Pakistani Muslim girl, was the highest-grossing

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film ever at the time of its release, and garnered him a

nomination.

Early life

Sunny Deol was born on 19 October 1956, in the village of

Sahnewal Sahnewal is a city and a municipal council in Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab. The city is situated on National Highway No. 44, between Khanna and Ludhiana. Demographics At the 2001 India census, Sahnewal had a population of ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in a Punjabi

Jat The Jat people ((), ()) are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in late medieval times, and su ...

family, to

actor

Dharmendra Dharam Singh Deol (born 8 December 1935), also known Mononymous person, mononymously as Dharmendra, is an Indian actor, producer and politician who is known for his work in Hindi films. Known as the first "He-Man" of Bollywood, Dharmendra has w ...

and Parkash Kaur. He has a younger brother

Bobby Deol Vijay Singh Deol (born 27 January 1967) popularly known as Bobby Deol, is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema and web series. A member of the Deol family, he is the younger son of veteran actor Dharmendra. His accolades include a Filmfar ...

and two sisters Vijayta and Ajeeta who are settled in California.

Hema Malini Hema Malini (born 16 October 1948) is an Indian actress, director, producer, and politician. She is primarily known for her work in Hindi films. Known for starring in both comic and dramatic roles, she is one of the most popular and successful ...

is his step-mother. Actress

Esha Deol Esha Deol Takhtani (born 2 November 1981) is an Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Hindi films. The daughter of actor-politicians Dharmendra and Hema Malini, Deol made her debut in '' Koi Mere Dil Se Poochhe'' (2002), which ...

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 ''Yamla Pagla Deewana 2'' (; ) is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Sangeeth Sivan. It is a sequel to the 2011 film, ''Yamla Pagla Deewana'' and the second installment of ''Yamla Pagla Deewana'' film series. It featur ...

'' and has rapped in a song sung by

Diljit Dosanjh Daljit Singh Dosanjh known professionally as Diljit Dosanjh (born 6 January 1984) is an Indian singer, actor, film producer and television personality. He works in Punjabi Music and subsequently in Punjabi and Hindi cinema. Dosanjh entered ...

in the film. Karan Deol has made his

debut with the

Hindi-language Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been des ...

feature film ''

Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas ''Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas'' () is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language Romance film written and directed by Sunny Deol and produced by Sunny Sounds Pvt Ltd and Zee Studios. This was Deol's third movie as director after '' Dillagi'' and Ghayal Once Again. ...

''.

Acting career

Deol made his debut in the 1983 romantic film ''

'' in which role he was praised and he was nominated for best actor at

. 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 A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

in '' Sultanat''. In the final years of the decade he appeared in several hits including ''

Dacait ''Dacait'' is a 1987 Indian film directed by Rahul Rawail. The movie stars Sunny Deol, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Raakhee and Raza Murad. It is based on how a simple-living guy transforms into a dacoit after being oppressed by the Zamindars of the ...

'' (1987), ''

Yateem ''Yateem'' is a 1988 Indian action romance drama film directed by J. P. Dutta. The movie stars Sunny Deol, Farha Naaz, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Danny Denzongpa and Amrish Puri. Plot Yateem revolves around a police officer Shiv Kumar Yadav (Kulbh ...

'' (1988) and ''

Paap Ki Duniya Paap Ki Duniya (; is a 1988 Indian film directed by Shibu Mitra. The movie stars Sunny Deol, Chunky Pandey, Neelam, Pran, Shakti Kapoor and Danny Denzongpa. The film was one of the biggest hits of Bollywood in 1988. Plot An honest Jailor Sh ...

'' (1988). In 1989, he had back to back hits with

Rajiv Rai Rajiv Gulshan Rai (born 18 July 1955) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film editor. He is the son of the producer Gulshan Rai. He has directed many films under his father's production company ''Trimurti Films''. He made his debut ...

's ''

Tridev ''Tridev'' () is a 1989 Indian action thriller film directed by Rajiv Rai. It stars Sunny Deol, Naseeruddin Shah, Jackie Shroff, Madhuri Dixit, Sangeeta Bijlani, Sonam, Anupam Kher and Amrish Puri. The film was critically and commercial ...

'' and

Pankaj Parashar Pankuj Parashar is an Indian film and television director. Among his most-known are police-thriller ''Jalwa'' (1987) starring Naseeruddin Shah, the Sridevi hit, ''ChaalBaaz'' (1989), and television detective series ''Karamchand'' (1985). He als ...

's ''

ChaalBaaz ''ChaalBaaz'' (, ) is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language slapstick film directed by Pankaj Parashar and written by Rajesh Mazumdar and Kamlesh Pandey. It stars Sridevi in dual roles, with Sunny Deol and Rajinikanth. The film revolves around twin siste ...

''. He even won his first

's 1990 film '' Ghayal''. He paired with

Aditya Pancholi Aditya Pancholi (born 4 January 1965) is an Indian actor, producer and playback singer working in Hindi cinema. Acting career 1985–87: Television movies and serials He was signed for a few television video films produced by Hiba, which ...

in '' Vishnu-Devaa'' (1991). From 1992 to 1997, he gave back to back hits with films like ''

Lootere ''Lootere'' (Translation: ''Robbers'') is a 1993 Bollywood action movie, written and directed by Dharmesh Darshan and produced by Suneel Darshan. The film featured Sunny Deol and Juhi Chawla, along with Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher and Chun ...

'', ''

'', '' Jeet'', '' Ghatak'', ''

'' and ''

Ziddi ''Ziddi'' may refer to: * ''Ziddi'' (1948 film), a Hindi film * ''Ziddi'' (1964 film), a film by Pramod Chakravorty * ''Ziddi'' (1973 film), a Pakistani film in Punjabi language * ''Ziddi'' (1997 film), an Indian action film starring Sunny Deol and ...

''. In 1999 he made his directorial debut with '' Dillagi'' starring himself, his

brother A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

and

Urmila Matondkar Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfar ...

. His first hit in the millennium was Anil Sharma's 2001 film '' Gadar''. In 2003 he teamed up with director Anil Sharma yet again for '' The Hero: Love Story of a Spy'', which also starred

Preity Zinta Preity G Zinta (pronounced ; born 31 January 1975) is an Indian actress and entrepreneur primarily known for her work in Hindi films. After graduating with degrees in English honours and criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in '' ...

and

Priyanka Chopra Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awar ...

. Released on 11 April, '' The Hero'' was billed as

's most expensive film at that time with an estimated budget of . The film became the third highest-grossing

film of that year. Deol appeared alongside his father

and brother

together for the first time in ''

Apne ''Apne'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film directed by Anil Sharma. It is the first film to feature Dharmendra and his real-life sons Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol together. Previously Sunny and Bobby had worked together in '' ...

'' (2007). In 2008, he appeared with his

again in the ensemble film ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

''. Deol’s first release of 2010 was Neeraj Pathak's crime thriller ''

Right Yaaa Wrong ''Right Yaaa Wrong'' () is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language crime thriller film directed by Neeraj Pathak, starring Sunny Deol and Irrfan Khan along with Konkona Sen Sharma, Isha Koppikar, Aryan Vaid and Govind Namdeo. This film was shot in Film Cit ...

'' which had him playing a

police inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

. ''

Yamla Pagla Deewana ''Yamla Pagla Deewana'' (; ) is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Samir Karnik, featuring Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, and Bobby Deol in the lead roles. The film marks the second pair-up between the Deol family, after ''A ...

'' which also featured him alongside his

and

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 Jonnalagadda Radhika Rao (born 27 March 1971) is an Indian film director. She started her career with her feature film directorial debut '' Lucky: No Time for Love'' (2005) with Vinay Sapru. Her next films were '' I Love NY'' (2015) and '' Sanam ...

'' and ''

Vinay Sapru Vinay Sapru is an Indian feature film, ad film and corporate films director. He runs a film production company known as Rao & Sapru, with his business partner Radhika Rao. Sapru directs movies and has a record of delivering different music v ...

'' ''

I Love NY I Love New York (stylized ) is a slogan, a logo, and a song that are the basis of an advertising campaign developed by the marketing firm of Wells, Rich, Greene under the directorship of Mary Wells Lawrence used since 1977 to promote tourism ...

'' opposite

Kangana Ranaut Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (; born 23 March 1987) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works in Hindi films. Known for her work in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards and five Filmfar ...

and in

Chandraprakash Dwivedi Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi is an Indian actor, film director and screenwriter, who is best known for directing the 1991 television epic ''Chanakya'' in which he also played the title role of the political strategist Chanakya and an inspiratio ...

's ''

Mohalla Assi ''Mohalla Assi'' (; ) is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language satirical drama film starring Sunny Deol and Sakshi Tanwar, and directed by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi. The film is loosely based on Dr. Kashi Nath Singh's popular Hindi novel ''Kashi Ka ...

'' 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 The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

''; produced by '' Jayantilal Gada'' of PEN India Pvt Ltd. It earned ₹16.9 millions whereas

earned ₹887.25 millions. ''

'', 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 ''Singh Saab the Great'' is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action drama film directed by Anil Sharma. The film stars Sunny Deol, Urvashi Rautela, Amrita Rao and Prakash Raj as main characters. The film marks the return of Sunny Deol to action ge ...

'' which was loved massively and created a big pandemonium in the cinema hall as well as on Facebook. In 2016, '' Ghayal Once Again was released'' which is a sequel to his 1990 film '' Ghayal'' and is the second film directed by him. In 2017 he and his

appeared in

Shreyas Talpade Shreyas Talpade (born 27 January 1976) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who appears in Hindi and Marathi films. He has appeared in several critically and commercially successful films. He is better known for his role as Shah Ruk ...

's comedy film ''

Poster Boys ''Poster Boys'' is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Shreyas Talpade in his directorial debut. The film features Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Shreyas Talpade along with Sonali Kulkarni, Samikssha Batnaga ...

'', 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 ''

'' were released. In 2019, he directed his third film ''

'', marking the debut of his son Karan Deol. He will be seen in ''Apne 2'' which will be releasing on Diwali 2021 it will also star

and Karan Deol.

Political career

Deol joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 23 April 2019. He won the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections from Gurdaspur constituency against his rival Sunil Jakhar of

Indian national Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

with a margin of 82,459 votes.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deol, Sunny 1956 births Living people Indian male voice actors Indian male film actors Film producers from Mumbai Film directors from Mumbai Hindi-language film directors Filmfare Awards winners Screen Awards winners Male actors in Hindi cinema Punjabi people Mithibai College alumni Indian Sikhs Best Supporting Actor National Film Award winners Male actors from Mumbai Male actors from Punjab, India People from Ludhiana district 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Film directors from Punjab, India Film producers from Punjab, India Special Jury Award (feature film) National Film Award winners India MPs 2019–present Lok Sabha members from Punjab, India Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Punjab Indian actor-politicians